Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Continuing legal education ("CLE") is theoretically important not only for lawyers but also for society. CLE aims to keep lawyers' knowledge of ever-changing law and technology up to date so that lawyers can continue advancing law on its long bend toward justice. CLE can socialize lawyers to the rapidly changing human phenomenon we call culture so that they remain keenly aware of what justice requires. And CLE could help attorneys fulfill their duty of technological competence by keeping attorneys' understanding of legal technology current. For these reasons, as well as others, most states mandate that lawyers take several hours of CLE courses each year.
Yet busy lawyers sometimes seek ways to meet mandatory CLE ("MCLE") required by state bar associations with minimum time and effort. It is especially easy to cut corners when taking an online CLE ("OCLE") course, because attorneys can nominally "watch" online videos while doing billable work. It is hard to imagine how OCLE performs the social purposes contemplated above when attorneys merely watch videos at eight times their recorded speed in marathon sessions simply to meet annual compliance requirements.
This article brings learning theory and cognitive science to bear on OCLE pedagogy. In short, learning science shows that engaging in passive learning, like watching videos, is less effective for learning than active learning, such as engaging with assessments. Moreover, this article identifies how MCLE encourages ineffective pedagogy by measuring MCLE compliance in terms of inputs (hours spent attending lessons) instead of outputs (ability to apply information learned). MCLE requirements based on time spent watching videos encourage CLE providers to create long videos, whereas learning science finds that short videos are more effective. MCLE compliance generally does not require completing any assessments, yet learning science shows that completing assessments is critical for learning. Thus, the problem is that MCLE requirements do not relate to effective learning.
Recommended Citation
Seth C. Oranburg, Advanced Online Continuing Legal Education: How to Leverage Technology-Mediated Education for Lawyers' Lifelong Learning, 72 J. Legal Educ. 555 (2024).
