Legal Fuel CLE: Keep Your Continuing Legal Education On Track
What is Legal Fuel CLE?
Legal Fuel CLE is a service of The Florida Bar and the Board of Legal Specialization & Education (BLSE). Launched in January 2019, Legal Fuel CLE is curated and produced by The Florida Bar to provide attorneys with relevant information about new CLE requirements and information on how to access flex learning courses, live seminars , and free courses from BLSE. Legal Fuel CLE will also give subscribers access to updates from the Supreme Court of Florida and select articles from the Journal of The Florida Bar. This service is an extension of the resources available on LegalFuel, the official blog of The Florida Bar practice resource center, which is designed to help lawyers grow their practice, stay compliant with Bar Rules and develop a better understanding of ethics and professionalism.
Legal Fuel CLE Advantages
The fact that the Florida Bar endorses Legal Fuel CLE as the provider for the advanced continuing education credits required of Florida lawyers, says something substantial about the quality and value that Legal Fuel CLE offers. It shows that The Florida Bar has tested and vetted the courses and speakers of Legal Fuel CLE, and that they meet the stringent requirements of the highest professional standards.
The fact that the Bar trusts its members with Legal Fuel CLE speaks volumes, and is another reason that you can trust that the courses from this organization are not only educational and interactive with quizzes to help you gauge how you are doing, but they actually meet the requirements of The Florida Bar for advanced CLE credits.
Knowledgeable and experienced course developers from The Florida Bar create courses for Legal Fuel CLE. All approved distance learning providers must demonstrate in advance their commitment to providing high quality, accurate, and up-to-date distance learning programs that are appropriate to the learning objectives and the appropriate audience for each program.
The MATC also actively monitors CLE program content and enforces compliance with Standards for Accreditation. Legal Fuel CLE is a quality, accredited provider of CLE approved by The Florida Bar.
Legal Fuel CLE Types of Courses Available
Our Legal Fuel CLE library is continually populated with a variety of new courses, many of which are relevant to most attorneys, regardless of their areas of practice. However, we offer a wide range of courses, so there’s something for most every interest. We invite you to peruse our "On-Demand" and "Live Webcast" options to see the available course offerings. The courses offered through Legal Fuel cover a wide range of topics – from fundamental skills to specialized areas – including: And while you may purchase individual courses of interest, it may be worth noting that the courses are also packaged in convenient "Curricula." These are comprehensive groups of related courses and are a great way to cover an entire subject in a series of shorter courses. For example, the "Florida Criminal Practice Vacation Package" consists of seven one-hour courses that together make up a useful six-hour block of CLE. Other types of Curricula that are currently available include trial skills for family law, practical approaches for marital and child support cases, and constructing bullet-proof settlements. Note that although these course packages may include one or more of the courses that also appear on the core MCLE requirements list, the full length of each course will be accepted — even if you have already completed that course for MCLE compliance.
How Do You Get Legal Fuel CLE?
To access a Florida Bar CLE through LegalFuel CLE, you first need to sign up for a free LegalFuel account by following this link. Once your account is confirmed, you can go to the LegalFuel CLE webpage and log in to the portal using your Florida Bar number and password. All Florida Bar CLE materials on LegalFuel will be available to you at no charge; just click on one of the courses that you wish to take and all the materials will be available. If you are not up to date on CLE requirements , you may also see the credits available to you, and the amounts you currently have.
All materials were created for the Florida legal community by Section leaders and members, as well as staff, past and present, and reflect the quality reputation of the Florida Bar CLE program. Any recorded CLEs are also available to those with a paid subscription to The Florida Bar CLE Online.
State Specific CLE Requirements
Legal Fuel offers an array of state bar association-required courses tailored to fit any legal niche from general practitioners to personal injury attorneys. Many states have mandated continuing legal education in specific areas of practice such as ethics, alternative dispute resolution, client counseling, communication skills and more.
Legal Fuel CLE can help you with complying with the particular requirements of your state. Certification of attendance is provided to assist the attorney in fulfilling his or her obligations, so they can ultimately renew their state bar memberships and continue to practice law.
Making the Most out of Legal Fuel CLE
Lawyers can get the most out of their Legal Fuel CLE experience by mindful consideration. With numerous courses, formats, topics and maximums, it can be confusing and feel overwhelming.
When choosing courses, consider what will have the biggest impact on your practice. Are there gaps in your knowledge of Florida law about a certain topic that you need to address? If so, a foundational course may be in order. If your practice is mainly transactional, a CLE course that covers recent cases and legislation may be the best choice to keep you up to date. You can also look for areas of the law that interest you personally or professionally but that you don’t ordinarily practice. Use CLE to expand your knowledge and your comfort zone.
One way to get more out of a CLE seminar is to participate in person. For those that are live streamed in addition to the on-demand replay, attending the seminar in person can be a rewarding experience. You might learn something new, have some personal interaction with the faculty or even develop a relationship with someone you have only ever spoken to virtually.
Don’t ignore the repeat CLEs. If you need to retake a CLE course, you absolutely should. Even a year later, the lecture may cover new case law or have minor changes. If your co-counsel or opposing counsel attended the course a year earlier, it can be an opportunity to reconnect with that person. Select new courses in tandem with the repeats .
Choosing a final elective is possible under the CLE rules and will provide the flexibility needed to adapt to new circumstances as they arise for your practice. Looking into emerging areas of the law? Take a course on Artificial Intelligence. Want to know more about how technology is changing the practice of law? Try a course on Cloud Computing. Take an elective course outside your usual practice area that can impact your practice in surprising ways.
Consider splitting up your maximum allowable hours into smaller bite-size chunks. This way you can chip away at your CLE requirement over the course of the compliance year without having to cram at the end. Challenge yourself for personal development in the last month with the remaining hours to fulfill your full requirement. Sharing your experiences with others through client development activities or social media will also reinforce your learning.
Take advantage of Tech Tuesdays. Tech Tuesdays are live webinars that take place every Tuesday at 12:30pm and cover a variety of topics through the lens of technology. The most recent Tech Tuesday recordings can be found under On-Demand.
Legal Fuel CLE counts toward your 30-hour ethics requirement. Ethics courses often have critical real-world applications: preventing trust fund shortages, avoiding unauthorized practice of law issues, and upholding the profession’s reputation. From billing, to fee disputes, to marketing requirements, to data security, the new CLE rules encourage attorneys to regularly review their skills and knowledge regarding legal ethics.