Wellbeing CLE Credit: What's New?

By Sheina Long

A new CLE category focusing on substance abuse, addiction, and/or mental health has been approved and is now required for all reporting attorneys. “All lawyers must report at least one credit on the topic of mental health and substance use in the legal profession and in practice of law for each reporting cycle.”¹ The Minnesota State Board of Continuing Legal Education filed the petition for this change on October 5, 2023.²

What does the credit entail? The rule states that a course for wellbeing CLE credit should “[educate] attorneys about substance use, addiction and/or mental health issues related to the practice of law.”³ The Amendment gives several examples for courses, including: a) the reduction of risk for and detection, referral, and treatment of substance use and/or mental health issues and the assistance available for impaired attorneys; (b) recognizing signs of misuse, addiction, and mental health disorders in oneself or one’s colleagues; (c) impairment, intervention, treatment, and available lawyer assistance programs, including steps to assist and refer an affected attorney…” ⁴

Rather than adding to the amount of hours required, the new credit will become a special category of credit which will require “no fewer than 1 hour of approved courses in mental health and substance use in the legal profession and in the practice of law.”

This rule will take effect July 1, 2024, though “CLE Category 1 lawyers due to report August 31, 2024 for the July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024, reporting period will not be required to report this credit.”⁵ The first group of attorneys required to report will be the “CLE Category 2 lawyers due to report in August 31, 2025 for the July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025 reporting period.” ⁶

According to a study by Johns Hopkins University, “among more than 100 occupations studied, lawyers were the most likely to suffer from depression and were 3.6 times more likely than average to do so.”⁷

We all know many lawyers may struggle with stress, depression, and other mental health struggles. It is refreshing to see this new CLE requirement takes us in the right direction to begin supporting more attorneys’ mental health.

Sheina Long is a licensed attorney practicing in Minnesota and Wisconsin, although she also holds active licenses in Missouri and Illinois. Sheina started working as a practicing attorney in Illinois in 2014. Sheina is currently based in St. Paul, Minnesota, working within the Claim Litigation Counsel Section of the Law Department of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the view and position of State Farm and they are given in her individual capacity.

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