Practising Law Institute (PLI) is a non-profit

continuing legal education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys ...

(CLE) organization chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. Founded in 1933, the company organizes and provides CLE programs around the world. Its programs are held in multiple locations including New York, California, Illinois, Washington D.C., Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania, London, and Hong Kong. Programs are also offered in various formats, including live webcasts, MP3s, and on-demand videos. PLI's headquarters are located in New York City, New York; it also maintains an office in San Francisco, California.

History

Founded in 1933, PLI was established to offer courses in the practice of law for lawyers recently admitted to the bar and/or those seeking to learn the elements of practicing in the field. As the country was seeing a transition from apprenticeship to formal law school education, a New York City lawyer by the name of Harold P. Seligson recognized the need for practical training in law and originated a series of lectures called the "Practising Law Courses." These lectures would be the germination of the full-fledged Institute that exists today under the banner of Practising Law Institute (PLI). By 1939, the Institute had been formally chartered by the Regents of the State of New York. It was able to take advantage of certain historical forces, including the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

and the federal regulation of business activity it inspired. The

Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Act of 1933, also known as the 1933 Act, the Securities Act, the Truth in Securities Act, the Federal Securities Act, and the '33 Act, was enacted by the United States Congress on May 27, 1933, during the Great Depression and after ...

and the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (also called the Exchange Act, '34 Act, or 1934 Act) (, codified at et seq.) is a law governing the secondary trading of securities ( stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America. A land ...

, for example, initiated a new specialization in the law. This new specialization in turn created a need for a new kind of

, which we see in practice today. As a not-for-profit educational organization, PLI offers pro bono programs in numerous practice areas, as well as pro bono scholarships for individuals and organizations including lawyers, legal services and nonprofit organizations, and students in need of assistance. In 2012, PLI awarded over 26,000 scholarships. In mid-2020, Craig Miller, Senior Vice President for Membership and Accreditation, was appointed Interim President of the organization by PLI's Board of Trustees. He took on the role from Anita Carr Shapiro, PLI's first woman president, who was appointed in 2015. Ms. Shapiro died in September 2020.

Mission

Practising Law Institute's mission statement, as stated on its website:

Notable faculty and authors

Robert Khuzami Robert S. Khuzami (; born August 2, 1956) was the Deputy U.S. Attorney for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York until March 22, 2019. He previously was a United States federal prosecutor and Assistant United ...

Preet Bharara Preetinder Singh Bharara (; born October 13, 1968) is an Indian-born American lawyer, author, podcaster and former federal prosecutor who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. He is curren ...

Mary Schapiro Mary Lovelace Schapiro (born June 19, 1955) served as the 29th Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was appointed by President Barack Obama, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and assumed the Chairship on January ...

Burt Neuborne Burt Neuborne (born January 1, 1941) is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties at New York University School of Law and the founding legal director of the Brennan Center for Justice.Ted Wells Theodore V. "Ted" Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American lawyer who works in the field of criminal law. A litigation partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wells has been selected by the Nationa ...

* Joshua Ballance

References

External links

Practising Law Institute
Web Site *PLI Pres
Publishing Division

Securities Law Practice Center

Patent Law Practice Center

PLI Librarian
{{authority control Legal education Legal research institutes Education in New York (state)