Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 - New Lawyer Program

The Young Lawyers Division's Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 - New Lawyer Program

In response to the changes to Rule 3 CLE Requirement, the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar will sponsor the Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 - New Lawyer Program. The Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 - New Lawyer Program will annually offer new lawyers four opportunities across the state to get the required twelve (12) actual hours of CLE to include six (6) hours of basic skills training and six (6) hours of ethics/professionalism. 

To meet the new lawyer requirement, each attorney will need to attend and earn credit for a topic from each of the following 12 categories. 

Ethics/Professionalism
EP1000:  Duty to Clients
EP2000:  Duty to Opposing Parties and Their Counsel
EP3000:  Duty to the Courts
EP4000:  Duty to Colleagues in the Practice of Law
EP5000:  Duty to the Profession
EP6000:  Duty to the Public

Basic Skills
S1000:  Working With Clients
S2000:  Law Office Management
S3000:  Effective Utilization of Technology
S4000:  Basic Litigation Skills
S5000:  Basic Transactional Skills
S6000:  Substantive Law 

"First Half" Courses include EP1000, EP2000, EP3000, S1000, S2000 and S3000 
"Second Half" Courses include EP4000, EP5000, EP6000, S4000, S5000 and S6000 

 

Download a checklist for Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 – New Lawyer Program 

 

Schedule for The Young Lawyers Division's Bridge the Gap: Rule 3 - New Lawyer Program
Whether you are affected by the rule change or not, all attorneys are welcome to attend these CLEs.

April 26, 2024 - Jackson, MS - Second Half


State of Mississippi Rules and Regulations for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
Rule 3.3 No attorney shall be permitted to claim more than six (6) hours of CLE credit through the use of satellite-transmitted or electronically recorded or reproduced material, even though same is presented by an accredited sponsor.  

Rules and Regulations for Mandatory CLE – New Lawyer Requirement
Read the complete Supreme Court Order of the new CLE Requirements

The following changes were made to Rule 3. CLE Requirement (amended effective July 1, 2015):

b. Each attorney newly licensed to practice law in the State of Mississippi, from and after August 1, 2015, shall, by the conclusion of the second CLE year occurring after their date of admission to The Mississippi Bar, attend or complete a new-lawyer program approved by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, which shall be comprised of a total of twelve (12) actual hours of CLE to include six (6) hours of basic skills training and six (6) hours of ethics/professionalism. Completion of the new-lawyer program shall satisfy the requirement of subsection (a) of this Rule for such newly licensed attorney for both the CLE year of admission and the next succeeding CLE year.

c. Attorneys newly licensed to practice law in the State of Mississippi, but previously admitted to the practice of law in another state, may be exempted from completing the six (6) hour basic skills training component of the new-lawyer program. To qualify for this exemption, within three (3) months of admission to The Mississippi Bar, the newly licensed attorney must submit an affidavit to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, providing the date or dates of admission in every other state in which the attorney is admitted to practice and a declaration that the attorney has been actively engaged in the practice of law for five (5) or more years immediately prior to admission in this state. Upon submission of a timely affidavit, the newly licensed attorney shall be required to complete the six (6) hour ethics/professionalism component of the new-lawyer program within nine (9) months, after which time the attorney will be required to comply with the annual CLE requirement prescribed in Rule 3(a). Attorneys eligible for the exemption prescribed herein who fail to timely submit the required affidavit shall be required to complete the new-lawyer program in its entirety.