MINNESOTA COURT RULES

PROFESSIONAL RULES

Rules of the Minnesota State Boardof Continuing Legal Education

Rule 6.Special Categories of Credit

A.Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

To be approved for ethics credit, the courses or sessions within the courses approved must meet the following requirements:

(1) Be at least 30 minutes in length; and

(2) Be separately identified as ethics or professional responsibility on the course agenda and on the Course Approval Form at Appendix I.

B.Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession and in the Practice of Law.

To be approved for elimination of bias credit, the courses or sessions within such courses must meet the following requirements:

(1) Be at least 60 minutes in length;

(2) Be identified on the application as fulfilling the elimination of bias requirement and be accompanied by a narrative describing how the course or sessions of the course meet one or more of the learning goals as described in the Course Approval Form at Appendix I;

(3) Focus on issues in the legal profession and in the practice of law and not issues of bias in society in general; and

(4) Not include courses on the substantive law of illegal discrimination unless such courses meet one or more of the learning goals for elimination of bias courses set forth in the Course Approval Form at Appendix I.

C.Mental Health and Substance Use in the Legal Profession and in the Practice of Law.

To be approved for mental health and substance use credit, the course or session within the course must meet the following requirements:

(1) Be at least 30 minutes in length;

(2) Be identified on the application as fulfilling the mental health and substance use requirement and be accompanied by a narrative describing how the course or sessions within the course meets the definition of Rule 2H;

(3) Address issues in the legal profession and in the practice of law and not issues of mental health and substance use in society in general;

(4) Be taught by someone with particular knowledge of impairment and well-being in the legal profession; and

(5) Include information on lawyer wellness programs and local resources.

D.Pro Bono Legal Representation.

A lawyer may claim one hour of standard CLE credit for every six hours of pro bono legal representation as defined by Rule 2V that the lawyer provides to a pro bono client as defined by Rule 2U in a legal matter that has been referred to the lawyer by an approved legal services provider as defined by Rule 2B or by a state court or federal court program. No more than six hours of credit may be claimed per reporting period by a lawyer for pro bono legal representation. In order to receive CLE credit the lawyer must submit an Affidavit of Pro Bono Representation to the Board (see Appendix II).

E.On-Demand Courses.

A lawyer may claim credit for on-demand courses as defined in Rule 2S, subject to the following provisions:

(1) The course meets all other requirements of Rules 2, 5, and 6;

(2) The course sponsor agrees to have one or more faculty members accessible to all participants via electronic or other means through the 24-month period during which the program is approved for Minnesota CLE credit;

(3) The course sponsor or course applicant completes and submits to the Board an Application for Course Approval; and

(4) The approval for an on-demand course is valid for 24 months after the date of approval by the Board office.

(Amended effective February 1, 2004; amended effective July 1, 2008; amended effective February 1, 2010; amended effective July 1, 2013; amended effective July 1, 2014; amended effective July 1, 2016; amended effective January 1, 2021; amended effective July 1, 2024.)