CLE Requirement

In addition to mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements that all attorneys are subject to, all newly admitted attorneys (regardless of licensing status) must complete 15 hours of specially approved continuing legal education courses on Vermont practice and procedure.  A minimum of 9 of those 15 CLE hours must be earned by attendance at programs delivered either as Moderated Programming or Non-Moderated Programming with Interactivity as a Key Component, as those terms are defined in the Vermont Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.  The 15 hours must be completed no earlier than 1 year before, and no later than 1 year after, admission to the bar.  Note that courses taken to satisfy the first-year CLE requirement will count toward the MCLE requirement during your first reporting period.  For more information on MCLE requirements, visit the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education page.

The Vermont Bar Association (VBA) has been authorized to provide courses specially approved to satisfy the first-year CLE requirement. The VBA’s list of approved live and prerecorded courses can be found here.

Mentorship Requirement

If you are admitted by examination or transferred UBE score, you must also complete a mentorship with a judge or attorney who practices in Vermont and has been admitted to the Vermont bar for at least three years.  The mentorship must last at least six months and must be completed within the first year after admission.  (For applicants for admission by examination, the mentorship can commence no earlier than the date applicants receive notice of having passed the bar exam. For applicants for admission by transferred UBE score, the mentorship can commence no earlier than the date applicants receive notice that they are eligible for admission.)  As part of the mentorship, you must meet regularly with your supervising judge or attorney no less than 10 times to discuss your practice and issues relevant to Vermont practice and procedure.  You must also engage in at least 40 hours of activities on the Mentorship Program Checklist.

Please note that you cannot use CLEs taken to satisfy the first-year CLE requirement towards the mentorship requirement.

If you are looking for a mentor, you can contact the Attorney Licensing Office (JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov) for a list of practicing attorneys who have expressed interest in being a mentor.  Also, you can reach out to the Vermont Bar Association, which has a mentoring program that connects new attorneys with mentors.

Interested in serving as a mentor for a newly admitted attorney?  Contact Licensing Counsel Andrew Strauss at JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov

Certification of Completion of First-Year Requirements

You must certify completion of the first-year requirements within one year of your date of admission.  Failure to do so will result in administrative suspension of your license to practice law.

You can certify completion of the first-year CLE and mentorship requirements through the Attorney Portal

Prior to going to the Portal to certify completion of the mentorship, you will need to have your supervising judge or attorney complete the form below, which you will be required to upload as part of your certification.

In the alternative to using the Portal to certify completion, you can complete the form(s) below and submit them through eFiling.  Instructions on how to use eFiling can be found here: Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide.