Rule 792 - The MCLE Board(a) Administration The administration of the program for MCLE shall be under the supervision of the Minimum Continuing Legal Education Board ("Board").
(b) Selection of Members; Qualifications; Terms (1) The Board shall consist of nine members, appointed by the Supreme Court ("Court"). At least one member may be a nonattorney and at least one member shall be a circuit court judge. The Executive Director of the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission shall serve as ex-officio members in addition to the nine members appointed by the Court but shall have no vote.(2) To be eligible for appointment to the Board, an attorney must have actively practiced law in Illinois for a minimum of 10 years. (3) Three members, including the chairperson, shall initially be appointed to a three-year term. Three members shall be appointed to an initial two-year term, and three members shall be appointed to an initial one-year term. Thereafter, all members shall be appointed or re-appointed to three-year terms. (4) Board members shall be limited to serving three consecutive three-year terms.(5) No individual may be appointed to the Board who stands to gain financially, directly or indirectly, from accreditation or other decisions made by the Board. (6) Any member of the Board may be removed by the Court at any time, without cause. (7) Should a vacancy occur, the Court shall appoint a replacement to serve for the unexpired term of the member. (8) Board members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in performing their official duties, including reasonable travel costs to and from Board meetings.(9) The chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be designated by the Court. Other officers shall be elected by the members of the Board at the first meeting of each year.(c) Powers and Duties The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To recommend to the Court rules and regulations for MCLE not inconsistent with the rules of the Court and these Rules, including fees sufficient to ensure that the MCLE program is financially self-supporting; to implement MCLE rules and regulations adopted by the Court; and to adopt forms necessary to insure attorneys' compliance with the rules and regulations.(2) To meet at least twice a year, or more frequently as needed, either in person, by conference telephone communications, or by electronic means. Six members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A majority of the quorum present shall be required for any official action taken by the Board.(3) To accredit commercial and noncommercial continuing legal education ("CLE") courses and activities, and to determine the number of hours to be awarded for attending such courses or participating in such activities.(4) To review applications for accreditation of those courses, activities or portions of either that are offered to fulfill the professional responsibility requirement in Rule 794(d)(1) for conformity with the accreditation standards and hours enumerated in Rule 795, exclusive of review as to substantive content. Those courses and activities determined to be in conformance shall be referred to the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism for substantive review and approval as provided in Rules 799(c)(5) and (d)(6)(i). Professional responsibility courses or activities approved by both the Commission on Professionalism and the MCLE Board as specified in this subsection shall be eligible for accreditation by the MCLE Board.(5) To submit an annual report to the Court evaluating the effectiveness of the MCLE Rules and the quality of the CLE courses, and presenting the Board's recommendations, if any, for changes in the Rules or their implementation, a financial report for the previous fiscal year, and its recommendations for the new fiscal year. There shall be an independent annual audit of the MCLE fund as directed by the Court, the expenses of which shall be paid out of the fund. The audit shall be submitted as part of the annual report to the Court.(6) To coordinate its administrative responsibilities with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission ("ARDC"), and to reimburse expenses incurred by the ARDC attributable to enforcement of MCLE requirements.(7) To take all action reasonably necessary to implement, administer and enforce these rules and the decisions of the MCLE Director, staff and Board. (8) To establish policies and procedures for notification and reimbursement of course fees, if appropriate, in those instances where course accreditation is withheld or withdrawn.(d) Administration The Board shall appoint, with the approval of the Supreme Court, a Director of MCLE ("Director") to serve as the principal executive officer of the MCLE program. The Director, with the Board's authorization, will hire sufficient staff to administer the program. The Board will delegate to the Director and staff authority to conduct the business of the Board within the scope of this Rule, subject to review by the Board. The Director and staff shall be authorized to acquire or rent physical space, computer hardware and software systems and other items and services necessary to the administration of the MCLE program.
(e) Funding The MCLE program shall initially be funded in a manner to be determined by the Court. Thereafter, funding shall be derived solely from the fees charged to CLE providers and from late fees and reinstatement fees assessed to individual attorneys. This schedule of CLE provider fees, late fees, and reinstatement fees must be approved by the Court, and any reference in these Rules to a fee assessed or set by the Board means a fee based on the Court-approved fee schedule. The Board may elect to charge fees up to the amount approved by the Court and the Board may, as it deems appropriate, charge fees less than the amount approved by the Court.
Adopted 9/29/2005, effective immediately; amended 12/6/2005, effective immediately; amended 6/5/2007, effective immediately; amended November 23, 2009, effective 12/1/2009; amended 9/27/2011, effective immediately; amended 1/17/2013, eff. immediately; amended 11/19/2015, eff. immediately.