Beyond Credits

A New Future for Pro Bono and CLE

Alli Gerkman — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:26:18 +0000

It’s been months since I wrote, and it would be easy to think I’ve forgotten about continuing legal education completely, but that would be wrong. I even spoke on it at the end of October for a Denver Bar Association’s pro bono week Ignite event. In five [very brief] minutes, I outlined a more structured [...]

Way Beyond Credits

Alli Gerkman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:52:00 +0000

But I'm now moving beyond credits. I've accepted a position at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), a national organization that happens to be housed right here in Denver and focuses on issues that matter to the future of the legal system, including these and the soon-to-be-launched Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers project.

Redefining CLE

Alli Gerkman — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:30:20 +0000

CLE is about professional development and that doesn't stop and start with an event--live or online. And it's certainly not defined by the credits you submit to a regulatory authority at the end of the year. It's an ongoing learning process that comes in many forms. Which is why my organization launched this site just over a year ago. Through it, we're sharing all the information we learn in the course of doing what we already do: planning programs, publishing books, and looking out for the professional development of Colorado lawyers.

What Should CLE Organizations Know About Educating Lawyers?

Alli Gerkman — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:45:23 +0000

I'm on the planning committee for ACLEA's 48th Mid-Year Meeting, which will be in New Orleans, January 28-31, 2012. While it still seems so very far away, planning begins now. Our committee is meeting April 1-2 to work on programming and I want us to have a great starting point, so I'm asking you: What should CLE organizations be learning, discussing, and implementing to best educate lawyers?

When Classes (and Credits) Aren’t Enough

Alli Gerkman — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:55:44 +0000

A good conference has high quality presenters teaching on topics that matter. But a great conference brings all the right people to the same place at the same time. This is why we often see attendees who are slow to head back into the conference room after a break. They're in conversations that matter with people they wouldn't have seen but for the conference. And while the classes might be great and, yes, they get CLE credit for attending them, this conversation is why they came--whether they knew it at the time they registered or not.

Update: The Future of Online CLE Is Still Free

Alli Gerkman — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:42:08 +0000

Talking about the post was helpful because it revealed some things I clearly had been unclear about in the post. But the future of online archives as free? I'm sticking to that. Interestingly, online provider Lawline agrees with me. Sort of. Its CEO, David Schnurman, and I actually talked about this at the meeting and he didn't say whether he agreed or disagreed, but he did say they would soon be launching something that would interest me. They have and it did.

The Future of Online CLE Is Free

Alli Gerkman — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:59:14 +0000

The biggest trend in high quality online education seems to be its price--or lack thereof. So if your business model is to charge for online content, you might want to redesign. There are ways for providers to build some value in curation and positioning--attorneys don't always have time to search for the information they need, so there's opportunity if you can get the best piece in front of them when they don't even know they're looking for it, but that's another post. And there are surely sponsorship opportunities, though they might have to be reworked, as well.

Where have all the young lawyers gone?

Alli Gerkman — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:24:02 +0000

Bar associations have been noticing a trend. "Young lawyers aren't attending networking events." I've been hearing this more and I've heard many explanations for it. The most popular reasons seem to be: "they prefer to network online," and "they just don't have the work ethic that baby boomers did." What I haven't heard is, "Maybe we're not offering the kind of networking events that young lawyers value."

Twitter Is Dead*

Alli Gerkman — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:35:10 +0000

*The title of this post isn't serious. I don't think Twitter is dead, nor would I probably even post about its death on this blog. But it represents the problem I have with the fact that more and more people are using Twitter as a primary news and information source. Because a title like "Twitter Is Dead" is the type of title that, if used by certain bloggers, will be retweeted over and over, often by people who never even read the post itself. It just sounds like something you might want to pass along. And why spend any time reading or thinking about the post when you can distill its meaning from just three words?

No, really. Marketing “how-to” isn’t continuing legal education.

Alli Gerkman — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:42:20 +0000

For those of you new to the debate, it's not a question of whether programs focused on the ethics of marketing should get credit. Those courses are already enjoying accreditation in just about every jurisdiction I can think of. Rather, it's a movement to allow lawyers to take "how-to" marketing programs instead of substantive practice programs for the purpose of fulfilling CLE credit requirements.