Overcoming the Ennui of CLE

Living in a state that requires 12 hours of continuing legal education each year, I hear many resentful complaints from lawyers who find the programs boring and unhelpful. Attorney at Work offers some suggestions to lawyers who find CLE boring and unhelpful.

I offer a different type of advice for those of us who sometimes present CLE programs. My two pieces of advice:

1. Show an inordinate amount of enthusiasm.  An energetic voice and an occasional joke will make you welcome.
2. Build in audience participation. Simple techniques. Give them the brief facts of a case and with a yes/no vote of their hands ask them to predict the outcome or ask whether they agree with the actual outcome. If you are presenting on drafting or writing, give them a sentence or two and ask them to redraft, either individually or in small groups.

(ljs)