PEC recommends Justice Teaching volunteers get CLE credit: panel looks at the numbers needed before certification areas are added.

Florida lawyers who volunteer for the Justice Teaching program should get CLE credit not only for training but time spent instructing in schools, according to a Bar committee.

And the Program Evaluation Committee, among many ongoing projects, is also looking at whether more lawyers should express an interest before a new certification area is approved.

PEC Chair Gwynne Young told the Bar Board of Governors in March that the committee has studied requests that lawyers participating in the Justice Teaching program, where the lawyers go to school to talk about civics and the justice system, should get CLE credit for that activity. The program is a top priority of Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Lewis.

The committee has voted, she said, to recommend that lawyers get one credit for each teaching session, but that the total credit be limited. That would be in addition to the credit lawyers get for attending training for the teaching program.

Young said the PEC is still working on the proposal, including the maximum number of CLE credits that could be earned, and will report back at a future board meeting.

"This is the most asked question to the Bar," Bar President Hank Coxe told the board. "Are we going to get CLE credit [for participating in the program]?"

On the certification area, Young said the PEC has been studying the difficulty of getting enough lawyers to serve on certification committees when only a few people are certified in a particular area.

"It's hard to find enough people to serve on a certification committee," she said. "We probably have half a dozen areas with less than 50 people certified, so it's difficult to find people to serve on the committees."

The PEC is looking at alternatives, including having smaller certification committees for some areas, Young said.

The committee asked the Board of Legal Specialization and Education to consider whether 75 lawyers should indicate an interest in taking the test before a new certification area is approved. That's an increase from the 50 in current BLSE policies. But the BLSE came back with a recommendation that the number be reduced to 25.

Bar President-elect Frank Angones agreed with Young, saying in his recent committee appointments for the 2007-08 Bar year he had trouble finding enough candidates for some certification committees.

On other PEC matters:

* The board approved the committee's recommendation to phase out the Bar's Call-A-Law program because usage has fallen as more...