Membership in the Ohio Bar College is reserved for those Ohio attorneys who complete at least 24 hours of continuing legal education in one calendar year.
The main objective of the Ohio Bar College is to provide recognition for those lawyers and judges who have exceeded the required hours of continuing legal education each year.
In recognition of that achievement, Ohio Bar College Members who are members of the OSBA receive a 15% discount on OBLIC insurance policies (full-time policies only), with incremental 1% increases in that discount annually starting in 2020 for each successive year of membership in the college (after 2019), up to a maximum discount of 25%. For example, if you were a member of the Bar College in 2019 and 2020, the Bar College discount on your OBLIC policy would increase from 15% for the 2019 policy term to 16% for the 2020 policy term. Ohio Bar College members who are not members of the OSBA receive a 8% discount on OBLIC insurance policies (full-time only), with incremental 1% increases in that discount starting in year 2020 for each successive year of membership in the college (after 2019), up to a maximum discount of 15%.
All currently licensed and active Ohio attorneys are eligible to become members of the College.
You can become a member of the College by earning 24 hours of CLE in one calendar year. After becoming a member of the College, membership is maintained by earning a total of 24 hours of CLE per calendar year in all subsequent years for which membership is desired. Only those courses and corresponding CLE credits approved by the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on CLE will be accepted for Bar College membership. Out of state CLE can qualify so long as it is approved by the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on CLE for Ohio credit, and appears on the attorney’s Ohio CLE transcript.
A completed form showing CLE hours is required for each year membership is requested.
An Ohio attorney who wants to qualify for the Ohio Bar College membership shall report yearly the relevant CLE programs attended, dates, locations, course titles, sponsors and hours of credits earned. The Bar College retains the right to audit the records submitted. Only those course sponsors which are approved by the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on CLE will be accepted by the Bar College.
Applicants must report their CLE hours, as required by Rule X for the Governance of the Bar, to the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on CLE at the following address:
Once 24 CLE credit hours are earned in one calendar year, applicants have until April 15 the following year to send completed applications to OBLIC. Applications received after April 15 must include a $10 late processing fee, and applications for that year will not be accepted after December 31. No carryover CLE credit hours will be accepted.