Citing a rise in data breaches among New York law firms coupled with the recent enactment of the SHIELD Act that “creates, for the first time, substantive security requirements for persons or businesses that hold the ‘private information’ of New York residents”, the Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession recommended the adoption of a cybersecurity CLE. Because the SHIELD Act applies to “all law firms, even to solo practitioners and small law firms”, the Committee advocated for the requirement as an “important initiative”.

Last week the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) agreed and approved a new requirement that New York attorneys take one cybsersecurity CLE credit. The proposal is presently before the New York CLE board for consideration.