The International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) announced that the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) has received two international awards for its CLE programs. The first is an Award for Outstanding Achievement for Pro Bono Basics for Assisting Youth in Need in the Public Interest category. The second is Best Program Award for Professional Excellence for ISBA’s Faculty Development Series: The Art of Effective Communication, the top award in the Best Program category.  ACLEA will formally present the awards to the ISBA at the ACLEA Annual Meeting in Boston on August 2, 2011. ACLEA award winners are selected from competitors representing ACLEA’s more than 300 member organizations.

The International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) has announced that the Illinois State Bar Association received the Best Program Award for Professional Excellence for ISBA’s innovative New Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse:  Basic Skills and More program, the top award in the Best Program category.  ACLEA will formally present the award to the ISBA at the ACLEA Annual Meeting in New York City on July 27. ACLEA award winners are selected from competitors representing ACLEA’s more than 300 member organizations. The ISBA’s New Admittee Virtual Coffeehouse: Basic Skills and More four week session was introduced as a pilot program in February and repeated in May 2010 as an option for new admittees to satisfy the Illinois Supreme Court requirement of 15 hours of Basic Skills instruction in the first year of practice.  Additional repeats are scheduled for September and November 2010. The Virtual Coffeehouse ISBA online learning community offered both required and optional selections to new admittees as if they were selecting items from a menu in a coffeehouse and included online streaming video; live, interactive weekly webinars; online discussion forums; video practice tips; and access to relevant online resources for new admittees. “The success of the Virtual Coffeehouse program was made possible by the voluntary efforts of many ISBA members, sections, and committees” said Jeanne B.