CLE Credit for Pro Bono Service

The below organizations have been recognized as providing pro bono programs or services in Ohio pursuant to Gov.Bar R. X, Sec. 5(G). For purposes of receiving continuing legal education credit, "pro bono" means legal service provided in Ohio by an attorney to either a person of limited means or a charitable organization in which the legal service is assigned, verified, and reported to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education by an organization recognized by the Commission.

Volunteer attorneys may not seek CLE credit for their pro bono legal services on their own. They must seek such credit through application with the pro bono sponsor, which is responsible for submitting CLE credits to the Commission. Additional information regarding CLE credit for Pro Bono Services, including the application forms, are available on the Supreme Court website.

• Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.
• Advocating Opportunity
• Akron Bar Association
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio Foundation
• Catholic Charities Corporation Immigration Legal Services
• CASA-GAL of Hancock County
• Cincinnati Bar Association
• Clermont County Domestic Relations Court
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
• Columbus Bar Association
• Community Christian Legal Services, Inc.
• Community Legal Aid Services
• Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County
• Delaware County Interfaith Legal Services Clinic
• Disability Rights Ohio
• Equality Ohio Education Fund
• Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyer Project
• Hardin County Bar Association
• Hospice of Western Reserve
• Immigrant and Refugee Law Center
• Internal Revenue Service, Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC)
• Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc.
• Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
• Lorain County Second Chance Reentry Coalition
• Milton and Charlotte Kramer Law Clinic
• Montgomery County Juvenile Court CASA Program
• Office of the Ohio Public Defender
• Ohio Invents
• Ohio Justice & Policy Center
• Ohio Military/Veterans Legal Assistance Project
• The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Clinical Programs
• Ohio State Legal Services Association (Legal Aid Society of Columbus & Southeastern OH Legal Services)
• Operation Legal Help Ohio
• Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio
• Pro Seniors, Inc.
• Richland County Legal Clinic
• Scranton Road Ministries CDC
• TransOhio, Inc.
• Toledo Bar Association
• Toledo Tax Controversy Clinic
• Union County Bar Association
• University of Cincinnati College of Law Clinics
• U.S. District Court - Northern District of Ohio
• Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
• Volunteer Lawyers Project
• Wayne County Common Pleas Court JV/DR/PR
• Wayne County Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem Program
• Wayne County Volunteer Guardianship Association
• Williams County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court

If the pro bono organization needs to be recognized by the Commission as providing pro bono programs or services in Ohio (see, Gov. Bar R. X, Sec. 5(G)), the organization must first complete a Form 21. If the organization is recognized by the commission after their review of Form 21, the organization should then submit a Form 22 for accreditation too its specific pro bono program.

• Form 21
  Application to be Recognized as an Organization Providing Pro Bono Programs or Services in Ohio

Pro bono organizations that wish to seek CLE credit for their volunteer attorneys must complete a Form 22 for submission to the Commission. If the application is approved, the pro bono organization will be provided with an Activity Code that the organization will use to submit attorney attendance credits to the Commission. The program approval will be for one calendar year. Pro bono organizations must resubmit a Form 22 for each year in which it seeks CLE credit for its attorneys.

• Form 22
  Application for Accreditation of Continuing Legal Education Activity

Attorneys who wish to receive CLE Credit for their pro bono legal services should complete Part I of Form 23 for submission to the pro bono organization. The pro bono organization should review the information provided by the attorney for completeness and accuracy. After the organization has verified the information submitted by the attorney in Part I of Form 23, the organization should complete Part II of Form 23 to calculate the number of CLE Credit hours which the attorney is entitled to receiving. The pro bono organization is responsible for submitting these credit hours to the CLE Commission through the Sponsor Portal. Organizations should retain the originals of Form 23 for two years.

• Form 23
  Application for CLE Credit for Pro Bono Legal Services

Attorneys are eligible to receive one CLE credit hour for every six hours of pro bono legal services performed. Pro bono organizations are responsible for verifying the number of pro bono hours their volunteer attorneys have worked and dividing the total number of hours by six before submitting the CLE credit hours to the Commission. An attorney must provide a minimum of six hours of pro bono legal services to be eligible to receive one hour of CLE credit. After the minimum one-hour threshold has been met, additional pro bono hours will be rounded to the nearest quarter hour. For example, if an attorney provides six hours of pro bono legal services, the attorney would receive one hour of CLE credit; if the attorney provides nine hours of pro bono legal services, the attorney would receive 1.5 hours of CLE credit; if the attorney provides ten hours of pro bono legal services, the attorney would receive 1.75 hours of CLE credit.

Pro bono organizations should submit CLE credit for their volunteer attorneys no later than thirty days following the end of the calendar year in which the pro bono services were performed.