Civility in the Legal Profession

Why this credit exists

Civility became a required MCLE subject in California because incivility has a measurable cost: motions that would have been resolved by a phone call, discovery disputes that generate their own litigation, and judges who stop extending the benefit of the doubt.

The material is practical rather than moralizing. How to be difficult to work against without being unpleasant to work with, and where the line sits.

Where it sits in the California cycle

Active California attorneys complete 25 hours of MCLE every 3 years. Within that total, the State Bar requires 1 hour in civility in the legal profession.

Compliance groups, deadlines and required hours are set by the State Bar and change from time to time. Confirm yours at calbar.ca.gov.

How CDTA delivers it

As part of full-day MCLE events at the Indio campus, taught by practicing trial attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders and judges rather than by a recording. All required subjects are covered across the academic year.

For dates and registration, call (760) 342-0900 or request the schedule.

Other required subjects

• Legal Ethics
  4 required hours. The largest single required block in the California cycle. Conflicts, confidentiality, fees, candour to the tribunal, and the duties that follow you out of the courtroom.
• Competence Issues
  2 required hours. Recognizing and addressing the substance-use, stress and wellness issues that impair competent practice, in yourself and in colleagues.
• Elimination of Bias
  2 required hours. Bias in the legal profession and in society, including a required hour on implicit bias and the strategies that reduce it.
• Technology in the Practice of Law
  1 required hour. Remote proceedings, electronic evidence, and the duty of competence as it applies to the tools now sitting on every practitioner’s desk.