The following standards shall be met for any program for which credit or approval is sought:

1. It shall have significant intellectual or practical content.
2. It shall deal primarily with matters directly related to the practice of law, the exercise of judicial responsibility, professional responsibility, or the ethical obligations of lawyers or judges.
3. It shall be presented by a person or persons qualified by practical or academic experience to present the subject. Legal subjects should normally be presented by lawyers.
4. High quality written materials should be distributed to all participants at or before the time the program is offered.
5. It should be presented in a setting physically suitable to the educational activity of the program. Writing surfaces should generally be available. Generally, credit will not be given for mealtime or after-dinner type speeches.
6. "Ethics" includes both legal and judicial ethics, which is a set of rules that lawyers and judges must obey, with sanctions for failure, and professionalism, which is a broader concept embodying an attitude and a dedication to civility, skill, businesslike practices and a focus on service, and encompassing obligations to other attorneys, obligations toward legal institutions, and obligations to the public whose interests lawyers must serve. Credit for Ethics is awarded for programs or portions of programs clearly designated as providing instruction in these topics. Credit for Ethics may also be awarded when a provider confirms that these issues are addressed generally within a substantive topic or throughout a program; however, the provider must attach certification thereto and the attorney must attend the entire program to receive the Ethics credit in this situation.

Failure to adhere to these guidelines is grounds for disapproval of an activity. Providers must keep attendance records of each sponsored activity on file for a minimum of 3 years, copies of which must be submitted to the Commission within 30 days after the last day of the activity, except that for any program occurring after December 15th the list must be submitted on or before the following January 10th. The attendance record must be submitted in the format required by CLE Rule 6(A)(1). Providers must also provide each participant with an attendance certificate which meets the requirement of CLE Rule 6(A)(2).