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What will this program give me?
If you attend certain ICLE seminars--3 required, 4 elective and 2 limited-enrollment seminars-- within 3 years, you will receive a certificate stating that you have completed ICLE's family law curriculum. By attending these seminars, you will ensure that you have been exposed to an organized curriculum covering basic to intermediate-level family law.
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What do I need to do?
Fulfill the requirements for attending the specified ICLE seminars within 3 years from the time you sign up for the program.
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Do I need to sign up?
Yes. We need to track your participation and will want to communicate with the program participants.
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Do I need to be a Michigan Bar member to sign up?
Yes. This program is offered only to Michigan lawyers in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan.
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Are there time limits on completing the program?
Yes. You must complete all attendance requirements within 3 years of the date you sign up for the program.
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How much does the certificate program cost?
You must pay a one-time fee of $150 when you sign up for the certificate program. This fee is designed to cover our administrative costs and is nonrefundable even if you do not pursue the program. In addition, you will pay regular seminar attendance fees for the seminars. However, many of the seminars are offered through the ICLE Partnership, so if you are an ICLE Partner you will not pay for those seminars. All registrants must pay for the Annual Family Law Institute, the Advanced Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Institute, 40-Hour Hands-On Domestic Relations Mediation Training and the limited-enrollment seminars. ICLE Partners will receive a discount on those seminars.
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I am an ICLE Partner. Do I need to pay for these seminars?
Not for most of them. You will not pay for those designated as Partnership seminars in the seminar list. You will need to pay for the Annual Family Law Institute (if that is one of your electives), for the Advanced Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Institute (if that is one of your electives), the 40-Hour Hands-On Domestic Relations Mediation Training (if that is one of your electives), and the required limited-enrollment seminars, although you will receive a discount.
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How much will the limited enrollment seminars cost?
Because these are limited-enrollment, interactive, seminars, they are more expensive than the typical ICLE seminar. The general fee is $395, ICLE Partners receive a discounted price of $365.
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Do I need to take the seminars in any particular order?
No, but we strongly recommend that you take Fundamentals of Divorce Practice and Procedure, Handling Child Custody, Child Support and Parenting Time, and Handling Property Division and Spousal Support Issues first, or at least very early on. You must attend these three seminars before attending the limited-enrollment seminars.
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Are all the seminars offered every year?
No, although a number are. See the list of requirements.
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Are there special requirements to complete the program?
You may attend live or video presentations of the Certificate seminars or watch up to 5 archived webcasts (online seminars) or live webcasts (any of the required and elective seminars that are recorded are eligible). You should print a Certificate of Completion at the end of the live webcast or archived webcast. You must attend the entire seminar to receive credit. You are required to sign in at the beginning and sign out at the end of each seminar. You must sign in within 15 minutes of the seminar start time and you must sign out no earlier than the beginning of the last Question and Answer session of the seminar. For live and video presentations, you must attend the entire seminar at one location on one date (we cannot track "split attendance" accurately). Listening to an audio CD does not count toward your requirements. There is no testing, although advance preparation will be required in the limited-enrollment seminar.
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Do the ICLE family law seminars I took before I signed up for the program "count" toward my program requirements?
No. The program seminars are being planned with the new curriculum requirements in mind.
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What level are the seminars?
See the list of requirements.
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How do I know what requirements I have fulfilled and what I still need to take?
Each summer we will mail you a statement showing the requirements you have met and that you still need to fulfill. You can also check the status of your requirements online by logging in at the ICLE web site. To find out more, you can call our toll free customer support at (877) 229-4350.
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What will I get if I complete the requirements?
You will receive a certificate suitable for framing stating:
The Institute of Continuing Legal Education
Certificate of Completion
[Your name]
[Year]
has completed the Family Law Program
Cosponsored by the Family Law Section, State Bar of Michigan.
View Certificate (Adobe Acrobat format)
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How do I update my certificate?
Completing the program signifies that you have completed the educational program in a particular year and received a certificate of completion. After you have earned the certificate of completion, we will send you a certificate indicating it's been updated if you
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Attend ICLE's Annual Family Law Institute
- Remain a member of the State Bar of Michigan in good standing
Updating your certificate is completely voluntary.
The opportunity to earn an updated certificate is not available after a gap of more than 3 years since you last earned or updated your certificate.
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What about lawyer advertising?
Michigan does not have an approved "specialty certification" program for lawyers. Therefore, lawyers in this state may not advertise that they are "certified specialists" or "specialists" in a particular area of the law. By participating in this program, you are attending specified seminars offered by ICLE, which are designed to provide an organized approach to the education necessary to practice family law at the basic to intermediate level. When you complete this program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for ICLE's Family Law Program, which will be suitable for framing. You may advertise the fact that you have this Certificate of Completion, as long as your advertisement does not infer that you are a certified specialist. For any questions regarding lawyer advertising, contact the State Bar of Michigan Ethics Hotline at (517) 485-ETHX (3849).
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