Iowa Live CLE Bundle 2025

This course will enhance attorneys' communication skills across various professional contexts and equip lawyers with practical strategies to improve their interactions with clients, colleagues, and the court.

Effective communication is crucial for lawyers in every aspect of their practice. This program will enhance attorneys' ability to convey information clearly and persuasively, improving their interactions with clients, colleagues, and the court.

Participants will learn various types of communication, strategies for effective client and coworker interactions, and practical tips for both oral and written legal communication, including brief writing.

This program is designed for all practicing attorneys, from recent law school graduates to experienced practitioners, who want to improve their communication skills.

Learning Objectives:

• Assess the importance and fundamentals of effective communication in legal practice
• Identify and apply different types of communication relevant to legal contexts
• Develop strategies for clear and impactful client communication
• Implement best practices for professional communication with colleagues and court officials
• Examine techniques for giving and receiving constructive feedback
• Distinguish between effective oral and written communication techniques in legal settings
• Analyze and apply key elements of persuasive legal writing, focusing on brief writing
   

Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Central Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Mountain Time: 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Pacific Time: 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Alaska Time: 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Wednesday, August 20, 2025

This course is designed for attorneys who want to enjoy an intellectually stimulating and (perhaps) entertaining seminar on what many lawyers may deem to be a quite dull subject: "Professionalism." Even though standards for what the CLE-Mandating/Approving Authorities deem to be "Professionalism" are "aspirational" in contrast to the mandatory legal-ethics standards (i.e., the Rules of Professional Conduct), they are nevertheless quite important despite the absence of enforceability in the same way in which legal-ethics standards are enforced.

The format of this program is a blend of the lecture method with the Socratic method, extensively involving a high degree of interactive participation and critical analyses of a wide range of issues relevant to the subject of the seminar in a manner not limited to mere chronological description of particular topics and sub-topics. In other words, the content of each seminar (and the order and extent of emphasis upon particular topics and sub-topics) will be substantially influenced by the nature and extent of interactive participation regarding particular aspects thereof. Depending on the number of participants in a particular seminar, the format usually results in most, if not all, participants verbally engaging in conversational-styled interactive discussion and/or analysis of particular topics in the seminar and also permits interruptions, questions, challenges, etc. throughout the seminar. Think of collegially enjoyable and enlightening round-table discussions. It's a form of learning by thinking in the course of interactively participating rather than learning solely by listening (the latter of which is the lecture method).

This course is suitable for attorneys at any level seeking to support advocacy for the aspirational standards for "professionalism." Even attorneys deeming "professionalism" standards to be idealistic notions resting on a presumption that legal professionals are snowflakes easily melted by the heat of the adversarial system absent of what advocates of "professionalism" deem to be the refrigerating effects of civility, courtesy, collegiality, clarity, cooperativeness, and circumspection are encouraged to attend.

Learning Objectives:

• Refresh attorney common knowledge of unique aspects of the legal profession in contrast to all other professions, occupations, etc.: It's the effect of the Constitution's (and each state constitution's) vesting of "the judicial power" of the sovereign in its "Supreme Court" and its thereby incorporation of the evolutionary nature of the judiciary's common law inherent judicial power (i.e., sui generis power) to define, prescribe, and enforce educational, moral, ethical and civil standards for the practice of law and the status of lawyers as officers of the courts.
• Examine how exercising such common law inherent judicial power (sui generis power) in an adversarial system created under common law, the supreme court of the sovereign (i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court and each state supreme court) creates structural and functional tools for the administration of justice -- i.e., rules of evidence, burdens of proof, procedural rules, and regulatory control over the conduct of attorneys. 
• Review how the judiciary generally encourages lawyers to participate actively in the regulatory control over the legal profession and the conduct of lawyers individually. Therefore, each attorney must keep abreast of such disciplinary and regulatory activities and, as much as possible, actively participate (pro bono) in supporting such activities.
• Assess how and why what CLE authorities describe as "professionalism" is vital as a factor likely to increase, rather than diminish, the public's confidence in the justice system.
• Explore the variety of ways in which a variety of states (but not all states) have formally promulgated rules describing behavioral attributes of conduct by lawyers evincing "professionalism" even though a number of such states have declined to use "professionalism" as the proper description of the mode of behavior – to learn that there's no one-size-fits-all definition of such behavior. 
• Differentiate among the many duties imposed on attorneys; one of them is to apply critical analysis to all of the legal ethics standards as well as the procedural standards for their enforcement to perhaps motivate legal professionals to try harder to comply, to understand better the "spirit" (rather than merely the "letter") of such standards, and to be willing to serve on Bar committees to study (and potentially propose modifications of) such standards.

                   
Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Central Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Mountain Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Pacific Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alaska Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Wednesday, July 23, 2025

In the present day of increasing technology, attorneys need to learn about "big picture" challenges to legal ethics principles posed by advances in technology generally and "artificial intelligence" (AI) in particular. 

Stephan Hawking, the leading physicist of the latter 20th and early 21st centuries, predicted (until he died in 2018) that "artificial intelligence" would be mankind's "last invention." How near or far into the future is such a fate? Will he be proven right or will human intelligence (HI) manage to prevent such apocalypse? How long will AI's "childhood" last? Will it be possible to identify evolutionary changes warranting countermeasures so they don't become irreversible revolutionary changes for the worse rather than the better? Do not ethical duties of the legal profession necessarily include continuing vigilance regarding such technological changes to enable attorneys to protect and preserve the tools (such as attorney-client confidentiality and privilege) needed for the legal profession to continue performing the important mission of safeguarding liberty writ large?

The format of this program is a blend of the lecture method with the Socratic method, extensively involving a high degree of interactive participation and critical analyses of a wide range of issues relevant to the seminar subject in a manner not limited to mere chronological description of particular topics and sub-topics. In other words, the content of each seminar (and the order and extent of emphasis upon specific topics and sub-topics) will be substantially influenced by the nature and extent of interactive participation regarding particular aspects thereof. Depending on the number of participants in a specific seminar, the format usually results in most, if not all, participants verbally engaging in conversational-styled interactive discussion and analysis of particular topics in the seminar and also permits interruptions, questions, challenges, etc. throughout the seminar. Think of collegially enjoyable and enlightening round-table discussions. It's a form of learning by thinking in the course of interactively participating rather than learning solely by listening (the latter of which is the lecture method).

Attorneys at any level who understand (a) that the very nature of the constitutional form of government is to protect the good of liberty from the evil of tyranny, (b) that, therefore, the primary mission of the legal profession is to protect liberty writ large within the bounds of the rule of law [in contrast to the rule of men (mankind)], and (c) that protecting such good from such evil requires the legal profession to be disciplined by understanding essential principles of science in seeking to prevent the latter from destroying the former are encouraged to attend this program.

Learning Objectives:  

• Refresh what should be every lawyer's common knowledge of unique aspects of the legal profession in contrast to all other professions, occupations, etc.: It's the effect of the Constitution's (and each state constitution's) vesting of "the judicial power" of the sovereign in its "Supreme Court" and its thereby incorporation of the evolutionary nature of the judiciary's common law inherent judicial power (i.e., sui generis power) to define, prescribe, and enforce educational, moral, ethical and civil standards for the practice of law and the status of lawyers as officers of the courts
• Assess how exercising such common law inherent judicial power (sui generis power) in an adversarial system created under common law, the supreme court of the sovereign (i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court and each state supreme court) creates structural and functional tools for the administration of justice -- i.e., rules of evidence, burdens of proof, procedural rules, definitions of the practice of law, regulatory control over the conduct of attorneys, and the nature and scope of attorney-client confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and attorney work-product
• Acknowledge how the judiciary generally encourages lawyers to utilize modern devices, programs, applications and procedures and in some contexts specifically requires utilization of particular devices, programs, applications and procedures while also requiring lawyers to utilize them in ways that comport with duties imposed by the judiciary upon lawyers)
• Recognize that in a broad variety of contexts, lawyers' uses of such devices, programs, applications and procedures intrinsically undermine the extent of privacy necessary for proper utilization of particular tools (such as attorney-client confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and attorney work-product), and such undermining of privacy a fortiori interferes with, or jeopardizes, lawyers' abilities to utilize them in ways that comport with duties imposed by the judiciary upon lawyers. This creates a conundrum. What is (are) the solution(s) to this conundrum?
• Realize that it is necessary for attorneys to have sufficient scientific literacy to recognize the contexts in which technology can undermine or even negate efforts by attorneys to satisfy the legal and ethical duties imposed upon them by the judicial branch as "officers of the courts." 
• Explore the nature and ubiquity of technological threats to attorneys’ ethical duties are such that efforts by individual attorneys to counter or negate such threats cannot succeed without overt and comprehensive regulatory measures by the courts to provide constitutionally effective countermeasures against such threats
   

Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Central Time: 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Mountain Time: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Pacific Time: 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Alaska Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Wednesday, July 23, 2025

*This course is not approved for Ethics for Kansas. It is approved for Substantive CLE credit.

Tort law is a foundational aspect of the legal system. Legal professionals, even those not specializing in torts, should have knowledge of various torts.

This course will serve as a torts refresher, and will cover many topics in tort law, including the law of intentional torts, negligence and defenses. Other covered topics include malpractice, defamation and the torts of products. Additionally, noteworthy and novel cases will be covered. Participants will delve into key areas such as negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability. The course also examines contemporary issues and evolving legal standards, providing attorneys with the knowledge and tools to navigate complex tort cases effectively. Through case studies and real-world examples, this course will enhance your understanding and application of Tort Law in practice.  

This course is suitable for attorneys at any level that seek to refresh their knowledge of torts. 

Learning Objectives

• Classify types of torts
• Review the components of each type of tort
• Examine the defenses for different torts

Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Central Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Mountain Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Pacific Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Alaska Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Thursday, June 19, 2025
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Thursday, July 17, 2025