With news of MICPEL’s closing, some lawyers have speculated about whether another Maryland institution would rise up to take the torch; some lawyers have wondered if outside CLE providers would come take over; and some lawyers (because Maryland is one of just a few states with no continuing legal education requirement) just did not care.

If you do care, the MSBA has taken over MICPEL’s mission and operations. Though many articles have suggested that MICPEL’s inability to adapt new technologies is the primary cause of its death, there are enough lawyers who have a hard time adapting to new technologies that the problem was likely because of MICPEL’s core mission. According to The Daily Record:

If finances were MICPEL’s primary cause of death, there were also contributing symptoms. MICPEL “felt obligated” to put on any program suggested by an MSBA section, Carlin (pictured) said, and a 1982 agreement between the two organizations assured that MICPEL would put on programs with limited interest.

Frankly, if you are going to spend money and run an organization without an eye to profit-making, you are not going to be in the business for long. I understand MICPEL’s laudable mission was to put on quality programs for all of the MSBA’s sections, but if the sections themselves could not get their members to attend and pay for, say, the latest seminar on Correctional Reform, then programs for those sections needed to be restructured so they come at a very low cost. A half-day seminar may be too much—perhaps a one hour brownbag in MICPEL offices, which would have very few expenses, is the way to go. No amount of podcasting or webinars could have fixed that problem.

Not that there aren’t other problems, especially with the economy the way it is. Attendance at seminars is down for all CLE providers, including those run by the specialty bars. It takes more money and more marketing to get the same number of people to attend, and it is sometimes hard to predict if new topics/speakers will be engaging and interesting enough to promote attendance. But, the primary focus has to be staying afloat, a lesson that the MSBA will hopefully apply to the new MICPEL (by whatever name it is called).

I’m also glad to see that MSBA is taking over the publication side of the business. At the 50% off book sale at MICPEL a few weeks ago, I walked away with four terrific books:

1. Pattern Examinations of Witnesses for the Maryland Lawyer; Paul Sandler and James Archibald
2. Anatomy of a Trial: A Primer for Young Lawyers; Paul Sandler
3. Electronically Stored Information in Maryland and Federal Courts: Discovery, Admissibility and Ethics; Hon. Paul Grimm, Lisa Yurwit
4. Raising the Bar: Practice Tips and Trial Technique for Young Maryland Lawyers; Paul Sandler

So, you’ve probably detected a theme—I enjoy just about anything written by Paul Sandler. He spoke at the Maryland Association for Justice’s Workhorse Seminar in January, and he is a terrific speaker. I hope he, and the other regular authors of MICPEL publications, continue to write for MSBA and help to make better lawyers out of those of us who do care.

Powered by Bookmarkify™