District Attorney Hoovler Announces Accreditation of
District Attorney’s Office as Continuing Legal Education Provider

Modernizing the District Attorney’s Office by Keeping
Prosecutors Up-to-Date on the Practice of Criminal Law

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that, effective Tuesday, August 1, 2017, the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board has approved the District Attorney’s Office to be an accredited provider of continuing legal education (CLE) credit. As a result, the office will be able to offer education courses to assistant district attorneys, so that they may remain current on the latest developments in criminal practice, management skills, and ethics, and so that they may maintain their licenses to practice law. The accreditation is the latest step in District Attorney Hoovler’s effort to make the District Attorney’s Office into a modern, self-sufficient law office.

All attorneys licensed to practice law in New York, including prosecutors, are required to complete a prescribed number of CLE credit hours in order to maintain their licenses. Newly-admitted attorneys must complete 32 CLE hours in their first two years of practice, while experienced attorneys must complete 24 additional CLE hours every two years throughout their careers. CLE courses may be provided four areas: Ethics and Professionalism, Areas of Professional Practice; Skills; and Law Office Management. A specific number of CLE hours in Ethics and Professionalism is required, over and above the stringent ethical requirements that District Attorney Hoovler has prescribed for his staff. In the past, the District Attorney’s staff was required to seek CLE credit from outside sources, but, going forward, the office will be able to provide credit directly to its attorneys.

“Education is an important part of our modern world,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “and that is no less true in the profession of the prosecutor. Sophisticated criminals are constantly taking advantage of new knowledge and new technology, and the prosecutor who neglects to keep up with those advances will end up unable to compete with those who would victimize our society. As an accredited CLE provider, my office will be able to directly provide to my staff the educational resources that they need to effectively do their jobs and to maintain their licenses to practice law. Those educational opportunities will allow my staff to effectively catch and prosecute those who commit crime. And, most importantly, we will be able to provide my staff with the ethical guidance that will enable them to ensure that justice is served.