Mandatory Course for New Bar Admittees to Go Online
July 19, 2019
Starting September 2019, the D.C. Bar’s Mandatory Course on the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct and D.C. Practice will be offered online. The Mandatory Course, administered by the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education Program, has historically required in-person attendance by attorneys newly admitted to the Bar.
The on-demand session will replace the in-person class and its simultaneous webcast. (The webcast was first launched in January 2019 in response to attorneys’ request for the Bar to utilize available technology and to make the course accessible online.)
The Mandatory Course will only be available in person twice a year when it coincides with the D.C. Court of Appeals’ in-person swearing-in ceremonies.
“We are excited to be able to offer the Mandatory Course as a fully on-demand program,” says Darrin Sobin, chief programs officer of the D.C. Bar. “While we will still offer the course live twice per year here at our headquarters building in D.C., the on-demand version will make it much easier for our new members outside of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia — especially those in other countries and time zones — to comply with their ethical obligation to take the class. The cost savings will be significant for our members.”
Recent admittees to the Bar must still complete the Mandatory Course by the one-year anniversary of their swearing-in date to be compliant with the course requirements.
Learn more about the Mandatory Course
