The Massachusetts Bar Association will begin offering approved virtual Practicing with Professionalism courses later this month. Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:16 requires all persons newly licensed to practice law in Massachusetts on or after Sept. 1, 2013, to complete a half-day Practicing with Professionalism Course. While the SJC had temporarily suspended the rule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SJC reinstated Rule 3:16, effective Sept. 10, 2020. Under the reinstatement order, “lawyers admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth between September 10, 2018, and the date of this Order who have not yet completed a Practicing with Professionalism Course shall have twenty-four months from the date of their admission to do so.”
The MBA is committed to ensuring that newly licensed attorneys enter the profession in good standing by offering an affordable and convenient means of satisfying this rule's requirement.
The course registration fee for this program is $50 and includes the following:
- Program materials associated with the PWP course.
- Recordkeeping and attendance reports to the Board of Bar Overseers, which will be handled by the MBA.
Register for upcoming virtual courses:
- Wednesday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: RSVP here
- Friday, Oct. 23, 1-5 p.m.: RSVP here
- Friday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: RSVP here
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: RSVP here
- Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: RSVP here
This program is exclusively for newly admitted Massachusetts attorneys, in compliance with SJC Rule 3:16. Attorneys must be sworn into the Massachusetts bar before attending this course.