In a recent disciplinary action that underscores the importance of adhering to the spirit and letter of professional responsibility, a lawyer’s Maine law license has been suspended after he tried to accrue continuing legal education (CLE) credits by simultaneously attending two online programs. The attorney, referred hereafter as Buckley, evidently believed that multitasking could extend to his professional development responsibilities, but his state bar association thought otherwise.
This infraction surfaced after Buckley attempted to reinstate his law license following a previous administrative suspension. The submission of evidence for the fulfillment of his CLE requirement for 2023 inadvertently revealed the hitherto concealed misconduct. On June 16, 2022, Buckley, it appears, had sought to claim credit for two live webinars that were concurrently taking place. Looked at one way, he had been in two places at once, a decidedly unprofessional, not to mention impossible, act in the legal world. This report in the ABA Journal provides the necessary context.
Indeed, upon further investigation, it was discovered that this was not the only instance. On June 17, 2022, Buckley attended a webcast that spanned four hours and forty minutes, which started at 12:39 p.m. Close on its heels, he commenced another six-hour-and-thirty-nine-minute CLE, a mere 27 minutes later. Yet, perhaps without realizing it, he had those four unbroken hours earlier on to clear up any ambiguities about professional conduct.
The length of the suspension was determined using a precedent involving a lawyer who tried to delegate his CLE obligations to an assistant as a reference point. The case in question is covered here. While more egregious, it’s interesting to note that in this precedent, the lawyer had tried to avoid the grind of CLE altogether, whereas, in Buckley’s case, he chose to take both on at once.
Luckily, this case, while alarming, didn’t involve more unfortunate circumstances—for example, inappropriate appearances during CLE sessions, as documented in this other report. Still, it serves as a pointed reminder of the importance of not cutting professional corners, especially when technology makes it all too easy to try.