Date: September 28, 2006
Press Contact: Amanda Grayson
Attorneys licensed in Illinois can now fulfill all of their Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) requirements wherever they want, whenever they want, thanks to West LegalEdcenter (www.westlegaledcenter.com) the State of Illinois first accredited CLE provider.
In granting accredited provider status, the Illinois MCLE Board agreed that West LegalEdcenter had demonstrated interactivity as a key component in its online delivery. Accordingly, both on-demand and live Webcast programs delivered via West LegalEdcenter are fully accredited in Illinois.
With West LegalEdcenter, attorneys have convenient access to more than 3,300 Illinois-accredited programs, covering every conceivable practice area. Rather than "bundling" programs from unrelated practice areas into a defined offering, West LegalEdcenter gives users the freedom to pick and choose exactly the programs they want.
"Our primary goal is to satisfy the educational needs of our customers. We are committed to the notion that online CLE should not only be easy to access but also current and relevant to the individual attorney," said Lee Ann Enquist, West LegalEdcenters General Manager.
In addition to the broadest content available online, West LegalEdcenter includes unmatched innovative features, such as personalized program recommendations; simplified CLE tracking; links from course materials to Westlaw®, the leading online research service from West; customer service and technical support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and the most comprehensive law firm and corporate law department CLE Administrators Tool Kit for easy and seamless management of CLE attendance and usage.
"West LegalEdcenter provides Illinois-accredited programs that are up-to-the minute, relevant and educational," said Michael Renetzky, Partner at Lord Bissell & Brook LLP. "By partnering with West LegalEdcenter, we are ensuring that our attorneys have round-the-clock access to current, comprehensive and quality CLE programs from any place with an internet connection."
The initial two-year Illinois MCLE reporting period began on July 1, 2006, for lawyers whose last names begin with the letters A through M, and on July 1, 2007, for lawyers whose last names begin with the letters N through Z. There is a separate MCLE requirement for newly admitted attorneys.
About West LegalEdcenter
West LegalEdcenter is the premier online continuing legal education service from Thomson West. West LegalEdcenter maintains the largest and most current library of local, state and national online CLE content. The site offers approximately 200 new CLE programs, over 500 hours per month, from leading bar associations and CLE providers all searchable by practice area, jurisdiction, specialty credit, event type or content provider, including a live Webcast calendar. West LegalEdcenter partners with respected local and national CLE providers like the Chicago Bar Association, Practising Law Institute (PLI), the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education (ALI-ABA), to provide industry-leading CLE content.
About Thomson West
Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., Thomson West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. West is a business within The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and was formed when West Publishing and Thomson Legal Publishing merged in June 1996. For more information, please visit the West Web site at west.thomson.com.
The Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2005 revenues of $8.4 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,500 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporations common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).
