MCLE Board
Licensed legal professionals in the state of Washington are required to continue their legal education throughout their careers in order to remain eligible to practice law. The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Board plays a critical role in defining and determining compliance with the minimum education requirements. The Board meets five times a year to consider MCLE policy issues and review requests from legal professionals, including requests for waiver and extension of time to meet their minimum education requirements, and holds hearings on denied requests.
Board Members
Asia N. Wright, Chair │ Todd Alberstone │ M. Christopher Bueter │ Ayanna Colman │ Merri Hartse │ Robert Malae │ Melissa Skelton
BOG Liaison: Russell Knight
Staff Liaison: Adelaine Shay
Suggested Amendment to APR 11
The MCLE Board is considering making a new recommendation for an amendment to Admission and Practice Rule (APR) 11, regarding the ethics requirement. The MCLE Board previously sent a suggested amendment of the ethics requirement to the Washington Supreme Court in 2019, which was rejected. Now, the MCLE Board is interested in recommending a related but much narrower amendment to the rule, to focus on equity, inclusion, and mitigation of bias.
The suggested amendment to APR 11 would require that each licensed legal professional complete at least one (1) ethics credit in the topic of equity, inclusion and the mitigation of bias per each three year MCLE reporting period. The suggested amendment being considered by the MCLE Board would not increase the total number of ethics hours required, nor prevent legal professionals from earning additional ethics credits on other topics, which would also count toward the 45 total required credits. Please see the recommendation and report on the suggested amendment for background and more detailed information.
The MCLE Board would appreciate initial feedback from licensed legal professionals, members of the public, and any stakeholder organizations, committees, or Boards. Please provide your feedback by Aug. 22, 2020, or by attending (via zoom or phone) the MCLE Board meeting on Aug. 7, 2020 where comments will be heard starting at 10:05 a.m.
You may provide a written comment on the suggested amendment here*.
- Comment here on the Suggested Amendment*
- Preliminary Suggested Amendment Redline
- MCLE Board Report and Recommendation
- Initial Stakeholder Feedback Received as of Aug. 4, 2020
- Public Comments Received as of Aug. 25, 2020
- 2018-2019 Rejected Suggested Amendment to APR 11 - Ethics
*Please note all information provided in your comment will be provided to the MCLE Board, and posted publicly on the WSBA website. If the MCLE Board proceeds with the suggested amendment, comments received may be distributed to the WSBA Board of Governors and the Washington Supreme Court.
Meeting Dates and Minutes
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2020–2021 |
2019–2020 |
2018–2019 |
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Oct. 2, 2020 Jan. 8, 2021 April 9, 2021 May 21, 2021 Aug. 6, 2021
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Aug. 7, 2020 Sept. 22, 2020 |
Contact Us
Please direct all correspondence, petitions, notices, and other written communications to:
Washington State Bar Association
MCLE Board
1325 Fourth Ave., Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98101-2539
Please submit all requests and notices to the MCLE Board in writing. Requests and petitions must be received two weeks prior to a board meeting in order to be placed on that meeting's agenda.
To request a MCLE Petition of Undue Hardship, please contact our MCLE Team at 206-733-5987, or email us at mcle@wsba.org.
