Conn. Practice Book § 2-27A (2026)

Sec. 2-27A of discipline shall not count as credit toward an attorney’s obligation under this section. (6) Attorneys may carry forward no more than two credit hours in excess of the current annual continuing legal education requirement to be applied to the following year’s continuing legal education requirement. (7) To be eligible for continuing legal education credit, the course or activity must: (A) have signifi- cant intellectual or practical content designed to increase or maintain the attorney’s professional competence and skills as an attorney; (B) consti- tute an organized program of learning dealing with matters directly related to legal subjects and the legal profession; and (C) be conducted by an indi- vidual or group qualified by practical or aca- demic experience. (d) Attorneys shall retain records to prove com- pliance with this rule for a period of seven years. Such records shall be made available to the State- wide Grievance Committee or its counsel, the min- imum continuing legal education commission, or the disciplinary counsel upon request. (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the Statewide Grievance Committee or its counsel, the minimum continuing legal education commission, or the disciplinary counsel to conduct random audits solely to determine whether an attorney is in compliance with this section. (f) An attorney who fails to comply with the mini- mum continuing legal education requirement shall be administratively suspended from the practice of law in this state pursuant to Section 2-27B. (g) A Minimum Continuing Legal Education Commission (commission) shall be established by the Judicial Branch and shall be composed of four Superior Court judges and four attorneys admitted to practice in this state, all of whom shall be appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court or his or her designee and who shall serve without compensation. The charge of the commis- sion will be to provide advice regarding the appli- cation and interpretation of this rule and to assist with its implementation including, but not limited to, the development of a list of frequently asked questions and other documents to assist the members of the bar to meet the requirements of this rule. (Adopted June 24, 2016, to take effect Jan. 1, 2017; amended June 15, 2018, to take effect Jan. 1, 2019; amended June 13, 2019, to take effect Oct. 1, 2019; amended June 26, 2020, to take effect Jan. 1, 2021; amended June 11, 2021, to take effect Jan. 1, 2022; amended June 14, 2024, to take effect Jan. 1, 2025; amended June 12, 2025, to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.) COMMENTARY—2017: It is the intention of this rule to provide attorneys with relevant and useful continuing legal education covering the broadest spectrum of substantive, pro- cedural, ethical and professional subject matter at the lowest 134 cost reasonably feasible and with the least amount of supervi- sion, structure and reporting requirements, which will aid in the development, enhancement and maintenance of the legal knowledge and skills of practicing attorneys and will facilitate the delivery of competent legal services to the public. The rule also permits an attorney to design his or her own course of study. The law is constantly evolving and attorneys, like all other professionals, are expected to keep abreast of changes in the profession and the law if they are to provide competent representation. Subsection (a) provides that Connecticut attorneys must complete twelve credit hours of continuing legal education per calendar year. Subsection (a) also lists those Connecticut attorneys, who are exempt from compliance, including, among others: judges, senior judges, attorneys serving in the military, new attorneys during the year in which they are admitted to practice, attorneys who earn less than $1000 in compensation for the provision of legal services in the subject year, and those who obtain an exempt status for good cause shown. The subsection also provides an exemption for attorneys who are disbarred, resigned, on inactive status due to disability, or are retired. The exemption for attorneys who earn less than $1000 in compensation in a particular year is not intended to apply to attorneys who claim that they were not paid as a result of billed fees to a client. All compensation received for the provision of legal services, whether the result of billed fees or otherwise, must be counted. There is no exemption for attorneys who are suspended or on administrative suspension. Subsection (d) requires an attorney to maintain adequate records of compliance. For continuing legal education courses, a certificate of attendance shall be sufficient proof of compli- ance. For self-study, a contemporaneous log identifying and describing the course listened to or watched and listing the date and time the course was taken, as well as a copy of the syllabus or outline of the course materials, if available, and, when appropriate, a certificate from the course provider, shall be sufficient proof of compliance. For any other form of continu- ing legal education, a file including a log of the time spent and drafts of the prepared material shall provide sufficient proof of compliance. HISTORY—2026: What are now subdivisions (b) (8) and (c) (4) were added and what had been subdivisions (c) (4), (5) and (6) were redesignated as subdivisions (c) (5), (6) and (7), respectively. COMMENTARY—2026: The change to this section expands the rule to permit up to six hours per year of minimum continu- ing legal education credit for pro bono legal services.