What We Do:
History of ICLE
For more than 50 years, ICLE has worked to support the education needs of Michigan lawyers.
Our story is one of Michigan law, lawyers helping lawyers, a customer-driven focus, and commitment to excellence and change.
In the 1960s, many states established continuing legal education (CLE) organizations. Such programs were needed because law schools at that time did not focus on state law or practical training. To fill this need, state CLE organizations arose. ICLE was one of the very first.
Our original founders—the State Bar of Michigan, The University of Michigan Law School, and Wayne State University Law School—entered an agreement in 1959 to establish ICLE. In later years, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School (1981), Michigan State University College of Law (1981), and University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (1997) joined as cosponsors.
The key question we’ve asked ourselves in carrying out our mission is: How can we make our educational services accurate, practical, and conveniently accessible to our customers? As the answer to this question has changed, so have our services.
Through strategic planning, we have transformed our organization from a publisher of print books and seminars designed to update lawyers on Michigan law to a provider of rich, electronic resources designed to inform, educate, and train legal professionals throughout their careers.