It’s an accepted truth throughout the legal community that critical requirements for those who practice law here in New York State comprise membership to and attendance at CLE-accredited meetings.
Post-pandemic, it is painfully clear that local association meetings have seen attendance drop, sometimes sharply.
Much of this is ascribed to the lingering effects of the terrible COVID pandemic. It’s a sad fact the Inn lost one of its noted founders, the Hon. Gerard Rosenberg, during its early days.
Most Inn barristers who took part in a recent Inn of court presentation — let’s call it “The Good and the Bad of Artificial Intelligence” — were seated at a distance, leaving extra space in the overall arrangement. Force of habit?
Then, there’s a parallel compounding factor, to wit: the rise of ‘new’ and comparatively painless, time-conserving online continuing legal education programs!
Spending an hour or so at home during an evening viewing a CLE-accredited presentation, e.g., “Legal Profession Confronts Perils of Artificial Intelligence,” the attorney viewer can earn the same invaluable CLE credits they would receive by traveling over to, say, the Brooklyn Bar Association on Remsen Street and devoting two or more hours learning from a live expert in the field.
Personal attendance would provide the benefit of actually sitting with and personally interacting with speakers and others in the audience, asking questions, and perhaps improving someone’s earlier comment. This face-to-jowl type of quality interaction is viewed by many as key to the proper practice of law.
Rob Abruzzese Eagle story highlights problems
This touchy and timely topic was broached by the Eagle’s Rob Abruzzese, who published an earlier article that brought home a compelling message, writing:
“The Nathan R. Sobel American Inn of Court, a bar association esteemed for its innovative approach to Continuing Legal Education, is confronted with uncertainty as it experiences a…
Read the full article here
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