What CLEs Really Stand For
When a bunch of suits get together
Last week, I had to attend a Continuing Legal Education (CLE). I tried to come up with a clever meaning for this acronym, but my brain is still not properly functioning. My brain wasn't working because I got about an hour of sleep the previous night, which made going to this CLE all that much worse. During COVID, all of us suits got to do virtual learning (just like the rest of America), and it was glorious. I didn't have to see anyone.
I can say with all certainty and scientific fact that CLEs are boring, especially the ones that your work makes you go to.* I swear that the people who create said seminars get together and ponder how many people they can make scroll on their phones.** (Used to be physical newspapers, then magazines, then laptops ...) See, that's the secret. Just because they make us go, doesn't mean that we actually have to pay attention.
We are required to attend, in addition to the aforementioned work requirement, because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that all attorneys must learn how to be boring. (I'm fairly certain that "boring" is a synonym for "professional," at least in the context of lawyers.) Law school prepared us, and now CLEs continue that work.
The PA Supreme Court (as most jurisdictions, including the feds) also require yearly credits in "ethics" training. These are usually quick reminders to attorneys to not do what I call "The Big Five":
Don't steal money from your clients
No hanky-panky with your clients
Don't represent both parties in a lawsuit
Sexual & racial harassment = bad, unless you are the president of the United States
Attorney-client privilege is actually a thing
My prediction: next year, we will add another bullet point to this list ... on why you shouldn't use AI to write a brief.
* Lots of employers, with the exception of the Pennsylvania state government, allows you to choose your poison.
** Because the less people paying attention, the less questions from the audience you must answer. Unless you're that person.
The Promos
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Happenings
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Last week, I promised to write some hilarious legal news. And here it is: an attorney is facing possible legal sanctions for using Chat AI to write a brief to the court. [Also, you might want to get smarter about AI by reading The Deep View. 5-minute daily newsletter on important AI stuff. Attorney Schwart should have read that before writing a brief with ChatGPT.]
I also finished Rich Waters by Robert Bailey, and I wrote the book review about it too. I'm now onto richer (hahahaha!!!) waters and reading Uniform Justice by KJ Sutherland. It's also a legal thriller, so I'll throw up a book review soon.
Still getting through Psych, Season 2. I love the dynamic duo.