The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court, pursuant to the authority vested in them, do hereby amend, effective immediately, sections 1500.2 and 1500.4 of Title 22 of the Official Compilations of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, relating to the rules for mandatory continuing legal education, as follows, except that the addition of paragraph (4) to section 1500.4(b) shall be effective on January 1, 2008:

§ 1500.2 Definitions

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(c) Ethics and Professionalism may include, among other things, the following: the norms relating to lawyers' professional obligations to clients (including the obligation to provide legal assistance to those in need, confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest, the allocation of decision making, and zealous advocacy and its limits); the norms relating to lawyers' professional relations with prospective clients, courts and other legal institutions, and third parties (including the lawyers' fiduciary, accounting and record-keeping obligations when entrusted with law client and escrow monies, as well as the norms relating to civility); the sources of lawyers' professional obligations (including disciplinary rules, judicial decisions, and relevant constitutional and statutory provisions); recognition and resolution of ethical dilemmas; the mechanisms for enforcing professional norms; substance abuse control; and professional values (including professional development, improving the profession and the promotion of fairness, justice and morality).

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(e) Law Practice Management must relate to the practice of law and may encompass, among other things, office management, applications of technology, state and federal court procedures, [substance abuse control,] stress management, management of legal work and avoiding malpractice and litigation.

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§ 1500.4 Accreditation

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(b) Standards. Continuing legal education or programs to be accredited shall comply with the following guidelines:

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