Continuing legal education is not the bane of my existence, but it is bane worthy. The whole concept of reporting my yearly legal education is irksome. The forms in my home state of Missouri don’t allow for the lessons I have gotten from other attorneys. Probably fair, as most lessons were from opposing counsel when they’ve beaten me. I can think of a couple of archaic statutes that I discovered this way, much to my chagrin.

Fortunately, the CLE requirements here are not too onerous. A lawyer recently told me that Ohio requires 40 hours each year- one full work week. Or for some lawyers who live by billable hours, half a day on Saturday.

Early in my career I would wait until lawyer convention season to get my credits. The classroom days were short, followed by socializing with friends I hadn’t seen in a while and eating, sometimes drinking, too much. The cost for conventions was not all monetary.

Conventions feature banquets and award presentations. Mediocre food and lots of speeches. I haven’t been to a lawyer convention in years but may have to break my streak next year as I am on the short list for the National Organization of Associations’ Lifetime Underachievement Award. I’ll keep you posted.

I get my CLE credits these days through seminars. The longer I wait to clock my requirements, the less likely I am to find a course that benefits my practice. The Drone Law update I took this year is one such example, but I now know not to fly a drone near a government building. The Artificial Intelligence seminar was tough to understand, perhaps a comment on my intelligence.

I also took a class on Making Legal Writing Interesting. As a writer, I thought this would be a great course for me and might benefit you indirectly as well, Gentle Reader. I was wrong about that. I am pretty sure that the speaker never took his own course, and I nodded off once or twice. Luckily only my computer bore witness. Remote learning has its benefits.

The speaker advised that reading non law related books is one way to sharpen one’s writing skills. My high school English teacher had given the same advice. I beamed, as I have read over a dozen books this year. Admittedly, these were almost all books on tape, or as the kids call them, audiobooks. Don’t be pedantic about it, they count.

Audiobooks let me learn while running errands. Some call this Car University and my jalopy is Ivy League. I can fix that at a carwash, but I won’t. The downside to audiobooks is pausing them to look up words I don’t know. Google sneered when it told me what a “hog on ice” meant. And a petard.  Artificial sarcasm has surpassed artificial intelligence.

CLE seminars aren’t all bad. Some genuinely inspired me. Smart, successful lawyers who share their tips are true gifts to the profession. Inspiration from those classes is priceless and leads to motivation to be a better attorney. Motivation will take one further than knowledge, even if it is sometimes in the wrong direction.

I am proud to say I finished my report ahead of schedule this year. Was the seminar on Artificial Intelligence worthwhile? Not when we live in a society that doesn’t value intelligence very much. Am I a better writer after the Legal Writing class? The verdict is still out on that one. Expect a better written appeal.

©2025 With All Due Respect. Spencer Farris is the founding partner of The S.E. Farris Law Firm in St Louis, Missouri. Comments or criticisms about this column may be sent c/o this publication or directly to him via email at farris@farrislaw.net. He is unlikely to complain about CLEs until this time next year, but no promises.