A Year of Impact
CBA-CLE’s Commitment to Education, Access to Justice, and the Colorado Legal Community
September/October 2026
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April Jones, Danaé Kinnett, Rabea Taylor, and Ellen Ross gather for a group photo at the 2025 Family Law Institute in Vail.
Now that the 2025–26 fiscal year has wrapped up for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, it is time to reflect on CBA-CLE’s accomplishments for the 2025 calendar year. CBA-CLE deepened its role as a cornerstone of Colorado’s legal community, providing access to high-quality continuing legal education, strengthening its support of both the CBA and DBA, and investing in access to justice initiatives across the state. Through a combination of programming, volunteer coordination, publications, and financial support, CBA-CLE demonstrated its continued commitment to serving Colorado attorneys, the courts, and the public.
Advancing Legal Education Across Colorado
CBA-CLE delivered a remarkable breadth of programming in 2025, reinforcing its position as the leading provider of Colorado-specific continuing legal education.
Across 125 programs, CBA-CLE programming provided 624 unique General CLE credits tailored to the practice of law in Colorado, including 65.4 Ethics/Professionalism credits and 21.5 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion credits. These programs, collectively, attracted 11,575 registrants. Behind each program stood the expertise and generosity of 768 faculty members who volunteered their time to teach and guide Colorado’s legal professionals.
In-person events continued to bring practitioners together, particularly in Colorado’s mountain venues. These popular events included the Estate Planning Retreat, the Real Estate Symposium, the Family Law Institute, and the Elder Law Retreat—together drawing more than 1,300 registrants and over 150 faculty members. These flagship programs remain essential for their respective practice areas, fostering collaboration, professional development, and community among practitioners from within and outside Colorado.
CBA-CLE Publications had a successful year, releasing nine authoritative titles designed to support practitioners across various areas of law. The 2025 publications included essential resources such as Colorado Real Estate Practice, Colorado Title Insurance Practice, Colorado Senior Law Handbook, Colorado Appellate Handbook, The Green Book (for trust and estate practitioners), and other publications spanning family law, business law, health care regulation, and psychotherapy practice.
Publications were made possible by the dedication of 86 volunteer authors who contributed their expertise and time. In addition, CBA-CLE Publications staff managed sales and marketing for the Domestic Relations Bench Bar Book (2025) in support of CBA’s Family Law Section, ensuring continued access to vital family law resources for Colorado practitioners.
Expanding Access to Justice Through Collaboration and Education
A central theme of 2025 was CBA-CLE’s integration of access to justice messaging and volunteer opportunities into its programming.
Notable appearances included presentations by the CBA Pro Bono Social Equity Program at the Cannabis Symposium, the CBA Civil Appeals Clinic at the Appellate Practice Update, and the CBA Federal Pro Se Clinic at the Employment Law Conference. These events helped connect practitioners with meaningful opportunities to serve Colorado residents in need.
CBA-CLE significantly expanded access to free continuing education in 2025. In partnership with Affinity Consulting, the organization delivered 24 law practice management webinars offering 24 CLE credits at no cost to CBA members. These sessions attracted 1,651 registrants and were supported by CBA-CLE staff.
Investing in Members Through Pass Programs and Institutional Support
CBA-CLE’s Elite Pass program continued to provide significant value to Colorado’s legal institutions. In 2025, passes were extended at minimal or no cost to the Colorado Judicial Department, Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Colorado Legal Services, and Access to Justice Commission attorney employees. Collectively, these contributions represented more than $700,000 in CLE value beyond the cost of participation.
The Solo Small Firm Group Elite Pass also remained a vital resource, enabling small firm practitioners to access discounted continuing legal education. These efforts reinforced CBA-CLE’s commitment to ensuring that cost is not a barrier to professional development.
In addition, CBA-CLE provided full logistical support for not only the 24 free law practice management webinars but also multiple well-being initiatives, ensuring high-quality programming remained accessible to all members.
Financially, CBA-CLE contributed through event sponsorships and operational support. This included funding receptions for major programs such as the Cannabis Symposium, Appellate Practice Update, and Licensed Legal Paraprofessional Practicum, as well as continued support of the Colorado Bar Foundation’s Bar Fellows Dinner and the DBA’s Metro Volunteer Lawyers’ (MVL) Spring Soirée. CBA-CLE was also successful in soliciting $3,475 in donations for MVL from program registrants.
MVL staff were given the opportunity to participate in multiple CBA-CLE programs throughout the year, including Family Law Basic Skills, the Employment Law Conference, and family law updates, helping connect attorneys with pro bono opportunities.
CBA-CLE also structured its programming to encourage volunteer engagement. Discounted registration fees tied to pro bono commitments resulted in attorney volunteer participation, with attorneys agreeing to take on cases or volunteer in court-based and advice-and-guidance programs through MVL initiatives.
A Year Defined by Service and Shared Purpose
The achievements of 2025 reflect a consistent and deliberate strategy to strengthen and educate the legal profession in Colorado while expanding access to justice for those who need it most. Through education, publishing, volunteer engagement, and financial stewardship, CBA-CLE served as both a legal education resource and a unifying force for the Colorado legal community.
What’s Ahead
CBA-CLE remains committed to providing best-in-class educational programming. As part of this commitment, we encourage newer lawyers to share their knowledge and perspectives by presenting CLE courses. Expanding opportunities for emerging attorneys to serve as faculty not only strengthens the profession by fostering the next generation of legal educators and leaders but also brings fresh insights and diverse experiences to our programming, ensuring continued excellence for Colorado’s legal community.
CBA-CLE’s success is driven by the passion and dedication of our incredible staff and volunteers, the steadfast leadership of Executive Director Dan Sweetser, and the invaluable guidance of our board members.
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