Beginning next year, Hawai'i lawyers will have to complete three hours of professional education classes annually or face license suspension.

The Supreme Court announced this month that it had adopted rules for "mandatory continuing professional education" within the legal profession.

Hawai'i had been one of only seven states that did not require active attorneys to complete annual education classes.

The three-hour mandatory minimum laid out in the new rules is the lowest in the country (along with Alaska) among states that have adopted continuing education requirements for lawyers, according to data compiled by the American Bar Association.

A model continuing education rule adopted by the ABA requires lawyers to complete 15 hours of classes per year.

Private attorney Calvin E. Young, who co-chaired the committee that recommended the new rule, said there has been disagreement nationally as well as locally about the need to impose mandatory professional education requirements upon the legal profession.

"We worked very hard to develop our recommendations," Young said.

Hawai'i's new rule is patterned after Alaska's, Young said.

He stressed that most practicing attorneys here already complete legal education courses on a voluntary basis.

Members of the committee also included Supreme Court Associate Justice James Duffy, Intermediate Appellate Court Associate Judge Daniel R. Foley and Richardson School of Law professor Jill Ramsfield.

The committee made its recommendations to the Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism, first established in 2005, which in turn sent recommendations to the Supreme Court.

In announcing adoption of the new requirements, Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Moon said, "The new rules ensure that attorneys receive continued professionalism training throughout their careers. Such training will not only benefit the legal profession, but, as importantly, will benefit the public at large."

Some states require as many as 10 to 20 hours annually of continuing education for lawyers, Young said.

"Not all lawyers need the same type of education. A bankruptcy lawyer doesn't necessarily need a class on wills and trust," Young said. "We decided on a rule emphasizing areas where we really felt continuing education was needed."

The Hawaii Bar Association said classes will cover topics including legal ethics, law office management, bias prevention and access to justice.

The new rules encourage attorneys to voluntarily complete at least nine hours of additional training every year.