Board of Overseers of the Bar

The Board and its Mission

The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar was created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 1978 to govern the conduct of lawyers as officers of the Court. The Board is an independent agency under the jurisdiction of the Court.

The mission of the Board of Overseers of the Bar is to encourage and promote competent and ethical practice by members of the Maine Bar, and to make these standards known to members of the public so that they have confidence in the legal profession in Maine. The Board accomplishes its mission on several fronts including attorney registration, continuing legal education requirements, ethical guidance, and attorney regulation. [Read more]

Ethics Helpline for Registered Maine Attorneys

The Board of Overseers of the Bar provides assistance to Maine attorneys through its "Ethics Helpline" on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To speak with one of the Board's staff attorneys, call the Board's office at 207-623-1122. [Read more]

News

UPDATE 8/14/2023

Existing bar registrations are extended through October 10, 2023.



Maine Bar License Renewal: Open for Business!

MyBoardAccess is now accessible for FY24 Attorney Registrations. The portal will be open for license renewal from August 3rd through October 10th 2023. We greatly appreciate your updated contact information, proxy, and IOLTA account listing. Thank you for your patience during our database transition.

Registration is completed online on the MyBoardAccess by clicking on the Renew Registration section of the Board's webpage.



Board of Overseers of the Bar State of Maine New CLE Website

We are excited to announce our NEW website for all matters related to Continuing Legal Education is now live! This website will be your new resource for tracking your CLE progress, checking your compliance status, looking for CLEs and answering frequently asked questions. To check out the new website please visit: www.MECLE.org and register your new account.

Our current website will remain your primary resource for all non-CLE related Board matters. You will continue to use MyBoardAccess for annual registration, updating contact info, printing your bar card and attorney access to the bar directory.

You will need to register to create an account to access your CLE record. Your MyBoardAccess credentials will not work for your new MyCLEAccess. Registering is very easy following these simple steps:

1.) From the homepage, click "Register" at the MyCLEAccess portal.

2.) On the next screen you will enter your bar number and date of birth. Do not add any leading zeros to your bar number. Enter your date of birth with no slashes or dashes in the following format: MMDDYYYY.

3.) This will lead you to the final set up screen where you will create your login and password.

That's it! You should now have access to your CLE transcript and be able to see your courses posted for 2022 so far. If you read that you are currently non-compliant for 2022, don't worry! You have the entire calendar year to achieve compliance for 2022. You will see on your account summary page how many credits you may need before the end of the year or how many carry over credits you have already earned for next year. To see a detailed list of courses on your record simply click Full Transcript. Any credits you complete may take up to 45 days to appear on your record depending on when your credits are reported to the Board.

Please contact CLE Director David Morse at dmorse@mebaroverseers.org with any questions.

Attachment: Download Important CLE Update

Law Office Management Services Now Available

Through a unique partnership with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, Red Cave Law Firm Consulting offers Maine attorneys DISCOUNTED virtual law practice management consulting. Red Cave has 10+ years of law firm business management consulting experience, and has advised over 3,000 law firms. We can help you with issues surrounding law office technology, marketing, financial management and more!

Please visit the Legal Resources page to learn more about Red Cave.

You'll also find a link to the new Law Office Management Blog



Upcoming CLE Presentations

Date Session Title Organization Location Speaker
9/22/2023 Making Good Use of Microsoft 365 Maine Board of Bar Overseers Zoom Aria Eee

Hearings & Notices

Date Time Respondent Location
9/27/2023 2:00 PM Guardian ad Litem Review Board Counsel v. Naira B. Soifer, GAL Video Conference: via Zoom link

View complete hearing schedule

Recent Decisions & Orders

The files below require the free Adobe Reader

Date Respondent Issued By Order Disposition/Conduct
9/7/2023 Board v. Jason R. Buckley Single Justice Suspension Order [PDF] CLE requirements and Conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation
9/1/2023 Neil S. Shankman Single Justice Order of Surrender [PDF]
8/29/2023 Board v. Stephen Matthew Bander Single Justice Disbarment Reciprocal Discipline Order [PDF] Reciprocal Discipline; Disbarment
8/29/2023 In re Thomas P. Elias, Esq. Single Justice Amended Order [PDF]
8/25/2023 In re Thomas P. Elias, Esq. Single Justice Receiver Appointment Order [PDF]

View all decisions

Court News

Announcements and News Releases for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court

In Memoriam

The In Memoriam page is dedicated to honoring those members of the Maine Bar who have passed away in recent years. When available, links to full obituaries and news articles are also accessible. Click here to view the In Memoriam page.