The Challenges of Professional License Management—And How Litera’s CE Manager License Overview Helps
For law firms operating across multiple jurisdictions and geographies, managing professional licenses is a complex, high-stakes endeavor. With varying continuing education requirements, tracking deadlines for dozens—if not hundreds or thousands—of professionals, and the risk of noncompliance, it’s no surprise that maintaining compliance is a challenge for many firms.
Most mid-to-large-sized law firms have attorneys and legal professionals licensed in multiple jurisdictions, each with its own rules and renewal cycles. For example: New York requires attorneys to complete 24 CLE credits every two years, with deadlines based on their birthday, whereas California mandates 25 hours of MCLE within a three-year compliance period, with deadlines determined by last name.
And that’s just two states—there are many more jurisdictions with their own systems, reporting requirements, and deadlines. For legal professionals, including attorneys and paralegals, there are significant responsibilities involved.
The Cost of Poor License Management
Failing to maintain up-to-date licenses or meet continuing legal education (CLE) requirements has serious consequences, many of which are public and damaging. Attorneys who miss deadlines or attempt to bypass CLE rules risk facing disciplinary action, suspensions, and long-lasting reputational damage—consequences that can significantly and adversely impact their careers.
One example is suspension. Attorneys who fail to complete and report their CLE hours can be removed from practice, which disrupts client relationships and tarnishes their professional record. In some cases, attorneys may continue practicing law despite having an expired license, compounding the issue and leading to more severe disciplinary actions.
Misrepresentation of CLE compliance can also have serious consequences. Submitting false or duplicate CLE credits, or attempting to game the system, can result in lengthy suspensions, formal reprimands, and damage to an attorney’s credibility. These actions undermine the integrity of the legal profession and are met with harsh penalties.
These issues highlight the importance of proactive license and CLE tracking. Noncompliance is not just a clerical error—it can derail careers and harm a firm’s reputation.
As law firms expand across multiple jurisdictions and manage a growing number of professionals, the risk of missing key deadlines or mismanaging licenses increases. By staying on top of CLE requirements and maintaining accurate records, firms can avoid these costly mistakes and protect both individual practitioners and the firm as a whole.
Simplifying Legal License Tracking with Litera CE Manager
Litera's CE Manager is a trusted platform that has helped law firms of all sizes stay compliant, manage learning programs, and track licenses for over 25 years. With nearly 50% of the Am Law 100, including 20 of the top 25 firms, using CE Manager, it provides centralized, reliable visibility into bar compliance across U.S. states and select international jurisdictions, as well as paralegal certifications.
To simplify this process further, Litera has published the CE Manager Licenses Overview—a comprehensive list of all licenses that CE Manager tracks, including U.S. states, territories, and international jurisdictions, as well as various license types.
With CE Manager, professional development teams can access Rules Summaries that Litera’s compliance team curates, which reflect the latest CLE requirements and relevant licensing information. In addition, CE Manager’s Product Update emails outline the latest rules changes, and include a Compliance Corner portion that provides information about potential rule changes we are monitoring.
Ready to Explore the Licenses Overview?
We invite you to explore the CE Manager Licenses Overview.
Want to see CE Manager in action? Request a demo today to see for yourself how CE Manager helps over 60% of the top 50 global law firms simplify compliance, reduce risk, and keep teams focused on what they do best: practicing law.
