CLE Webinars vs. On Demand CLE

Most states allow attorneys to earn continuing legal education (CLE) credits online. Online CLE is a great way to position your law firm or business as a subject matter expert to attorneys.

As a provider, you can offer online CLE programs in two different formats: 1. live webinars or 2. on demand videos. Both formats can be effective in delivering high quality CLE content. But which format is right for your programs? Let’s take a closer look at both.

CLE Webinars

Webinars are live CLE events that attorneys can watch online. You can schedule them in advance for a particular date and time. Participants can sign up to be notified when the webinar is about to start.

Live webinars are a great marketing tool. You can share the upcoming event through your email list and social media channels.

CLE webinars create an urgency for the audience to watch at a particular time. Most live webinars are only offered once, so the attorney must be present at that time to view the content. Unfortunately, many attorneys won’t be able to attend as they will get busy with other things.

Live webinars can help create an engaging CLE program. The presenter can take questions and interact with the audience.

But, live engagement comes at a cost. Webinars are usually limited to 1-hour. It’s difficult to get attorneys to attend a live web event for longer than that.

There are several good webinar platforms. Two of our favorites are Zoom Webinars and GoToWebinar.

But, these popular platforms are not specifically built for the requirements of CLE. This means that you might need to verify attendance and manually issue certificates of completion.

CLE Webinars Summary

Pros

• Create urgency for your audience to tune in
• Ability to interact with audience

Cons

• Restricted time may reduce the number of attendees
• Difficult to get attendees for webinars longer than 1 hour

On Demand CLE

On demand CLE is a CLE program that attorneys can watch at anytime. Think of it as Netflix for CLE.

Attorneys typically sign in to a platform to watch an on demand program. The platform tracks their viewing progress. Tracking viewing allows the CLE provider to certify completion of the CLE program.

Like webinars, on demand CLE is a great marketing tool. You can post a link to the on demand event through your email list, website, and social media. On demand courses don’t have a predetermined time. You can continue to promote the event as long as the CLE credits are approved.

You can post any recorded video that is approved for on demand CLE credit in your state. This could be a recording of a live in-person CLE, or even a recording of a webinar. Putting on any CLE program take a lot of time and effort. By recording your CLE programs you have the option to offer them on demand. If you’re not already recording your CLE events, read our guide on How to Record Your CLE Programs.

You should publish on demand CLE courses through a dedicated software platform. General video platforms like YouTube don’t allow you to confirm that the attorney has watched the course. This can create a compliance problem depending on your state’s MCLE rules.

CLE Hero, is an on demand CLE software platform. Our platform hosts your video, manages viewer tracking, and automatically issues certificates of completion.

On Demand CLE Summary

Pros

• Attorneys can watch anytime
• Can offer longer, in depth content that attorneys can watch over time
• A platform like CLE Hero can automatically track viewing and issue certificates

Cons

• Difficult to track and issue certificates without the right platform

The Best of Both Worlds

The good news is that you don’t have to chose between webinars and on demand CLE. You can use them together.

You can conduct a webinar and get the benefits of urgency of the event and audience interaction. All major webinar platforms allow you to record the webinar.

When your webinar is over, you can post the recorded video to an on demand CLE platform like CLE Hero. This allows you to repurpose your existing CLE content to a wider audience. It also gives busy attorneys a chance to watch your program, even if they couldn’t make your live event.

Both webinars and on demand platforms offer a great way to engage with attorneys. Decide which formats work best to maximize the reach of your programs.