Richard Clem Continuing Legal Education

Pre-registration for these programs is not necessary. To participate, simply call in at 12:55 PM Central Time on the dates shown. Full instructions for claiming CLE credit will be provided during the call. To receive your certificate of attendance, you will need to e-mail a series of codes that will be given during the program. If you join the call already in progress, write down the codes you do hear, and you will receive partial credit for the minutes you attended.

To participate: Dial 1-712-432-3100. When prompted, enter the conference code 127735. Normal long-distance charges (to Iowa) apply for this call. Participants will be muted during the call, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end. After the call, e-mail the codes from the program to clem.law@usa.net and I will e-mail you a certificate of attendance.

Lawyers generally don't think of themselves as historians, but we frequently do the work of historians. We seek out historical events (which we call "precedents") and try to apply these historical lessons to current situations. Minnesota's legal history has a long pedigree, dating back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These antecedents give our laws a "chain of title" that is sometimes ignored. Some of the historical antecedents we'll look at are merely interesting "old cases" with little practical application. But others come under the heading of "venerable precedents", which can sometimes make an argument more compelling. And in a few cases, the law as it existed prior to statehood was arguably enshrined into the state constitution, in which case it takes on special significance. The course materials for this program are available at this link. CLE credit: One CLE credit has been applied for in Minnesota and Wisconsin (Minnesota event code 193923). Iowa credit is not available for this program.

July 18: Recent Minnesota Decisions April-May 2014. Live program presented by Richard Clem. This program will be a summary of decisions from the Minnesota appellate courts handed down between April 14 and May 14. Expected topics include:

• Minnesota sales tax
• civil commitment
• Retroactivity of Miller v. Alabama
• Whistleblower statute of limitations
• Termination of parental rights
• Service of Process

Course materials for this program are available at this link. CLE credit: One standard CLE credit has been applied for in Wisconsin. One Minnesota and Iowa CLE credit has been approved. Minnesota event code 193924. Iowa activity number 150769.

Recent Minnesota Decisions May-June 2014. Live program presented by Richard Clem. This program will be a summary of decisions from the Minnesota appellate courts handed down in May and June. Expected topics include:

• Anti-SLAPP law
• Waste management tax
• Retroactivity of Miller v. Alabama
• Necessity defense, implied consent
• Housing court jurisdiction
• Frac sand mining
• Electronic signatures

Course materials for this program are available at this link. CLE credit: One standard CLE credit has been applied for in Minnesota, Wisconsin. One Iowa CLE credit has been approved. Minnesota event code 194213. Iowa activity number 151852.

Recent Minnesota Decisions July 2014. Live program presented by Richard Clem. This program will be a summary of decisions from the Minnesota appellate courts handed down in July. Expected topics include:

• Fraudulent conveyance
• MN judiciary
• Service of process
• Affidavit of expert review
• Teacher tenure
• Psychologist-client privilege

Course materials for this program are available at this link. CLE credit: One standard CLE credit has been applied for in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One Iowa CLE credit has been approved. Minnesota event code 194468. Iowa activity number 152611.

This program is absolutely free, and there is no obligation to pay any fee whatsoever. These free CLE programs are an experiment on my part.

I expect that most of the attorneys attending will do so because the program is free, and I honestly don't mind. For some attorneys, the cost of maintaining a license and earning CLE credits can be a significant burden, and I'm glad I'm able to help. But I'm also aware that some businesses are profitable with a "pay as you want" fee structure. This business model has been used successfully in the music industry, by restaurants and even by a taxi company. This article is what gave me the idea to try this.

This model can also work very well for Continuing Legal Education. Even though not all are able, many of the participants in my free programs are willing to make a voluntary payment to support this reasonably priced alternative. Because of the high price of traditional CLE programs, it is my hope that these low-cost programs will be sustainable through voluntary payment. If this method proves successful, then I can continue to make programs, including my popular ethics courses, available on the same "pay as you want" basis.

Therefore, I ask you to consider making a voluntary payment after taking this free program. You may pay whatever you please. The program is free, and zero is a perfectly acceptable option. Of course, if everyone pays zero, my future free programs will be infrequent. You can select any amount you wish. To give you some idea of a reasonable price, please consider the following:

• $5: If I receive an average of $5 from each participant, then I will consider this program a success and will continue to schedule them regularly.
• $10: For many attorneys, such as those who are unemployed, the cost of required CLE is a significant burden. In my experience, about half the attorneys taking my programs are unable to pay. By paying $10 per credit, you would be covering the cost of your own CLE, as well as subsidizing the cost for an attorney who is unable to pay.
• $25: The cost for one credit for most of my telephone conference call programs.
• $65: The cost of a typical one-credit program from a traditional provider such as West Legal Ed Center.

If, after attending, you decide to pay for this program, you may do so in any of the following ways.

To pay using credit card, select the amount you wish to pay from the drop-down list, and click the "Buy Now" button below. You will complete the transaction with PayPal. The available options range between 50 cents and 50 dollars.

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If you want to pay using Bitcoin, you can use the following button to submit your payment through coinbase.com. You do not need any Bitcoins to pay using this method. You can pay by credit card in dollars, and the funds will be sent to me in Bitcoin. After you click on the button, you can select the amount of payment (in dollars) you want to make.

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If you prefer, you can mail a check payment in any amount to:
Richard Clem
PO Box 14957
Minneapolis, MN 55414