Practicing Law Institute

What Practicing Law Institute does

Practicing Law Institute (PLI) is a New York-based nonprofit continuing legal education organization founded in 1933 and chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. Its core function is delivering accredited continuing legal education programs — in-person, virtual, and on-demand — to attorneys and other legal professionals required to maintain licensure, and publishing authoritative treatises and reference materials through its wholly-owned subsidiary PLI Press. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees drawn from major U.S. law firms, corporate legal departments, and academic institutions including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Stanford Law School, JPMorgan Chase, Freshfields, and PwC, with Lynn K. Neuner of Simpson Thacher serving as Chair as of the May 2026 annual elections.

PLI operates a dual revenue model anchored by program tuition and publication sales. Continuing legal education programs are delivered to a horizontally segmented audience — practicing attorneys, in-house counsel, law firm leadership, and law students — across substantive and emerging topics including AI governance, intellectual property, restrictive covenants, and law firm transformation. PLI Press extends the content moat through books and treatises sold via the organization's own storefront, with partner-channel distribution into platforms such as Paladin for pro bono and student training, and co-developed education series with the American Arbitration Association and Creative Lawyers.

The technology layer consists of a personalized digital learning platform, redesigned in 2025 and recognized at the Transform North America Awards, which sits atop PLI's content library and supports on-demand delivery. A separately launched Innovation Council, comprising legal and corporate sector leaders, advises on technology integration and content strategy, functioning as an advisory ecosystem rather than a product line. PLI does not disclose revenue or membership metrics publicly; headcount is in the 501–1000 range, consistent with a large multi-channel nonprofit education organization.

Name

Practicing Law Institute

Legal name

Practising Law Institute

Website

https://pli.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1933

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Practicing Law Institute is a nonprofit continuing legal education organization founded in 1933 that delivers accredited CLE programs and publishes authoritative treatises through PLI Press for attorneys, in-house counsel, law firm leadership, and law students across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Continuing Legal Education

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), All Other Legal Services (541199), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Law School Continuing Legal Education (CLE) & Executive Programs (EDAHAIAH), Law & Legal Studies (EDAGABAH), Legal & Governance Professional Development (EDAGANAK), Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Continuing legal education
• Legal professional development
• Legal publications
• Legal treatises
• Professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit continuing legal education organization that provides accredited CLE programs for attorneys and legal professionals across in-person, virtual, and on-demand formats. It also operates PLI Press, a publishing arm producing books, treatises, and reference materials covering substantive law, law firm management, and emerging areas such as AI and intellectual property.

Product overview

Practising Law Institute operates as a nonprofit learning organization (founded 1933) offering a dual-core product portfolio: (1) PLI Press publications including books, treatises, and educational materials covering substantive legal topics, law firm management, and emerging areas like AI and IP; and (2) Continuing Legal Education programs delivered in-person, virtually, and on-demand. These are supported by the Innovation Council advisory body that guides PLI's technological integration strategy. The organization recently expanded its digital platform with personalized learning features, as recognized by the 2025 Transform North America Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Continuing Legal Education Programs Accredited continuing legal and professional education programs for attorneys and legal professionals delivered across in-person, virtual, and on-demand formats, enabling bar licensure compliance.
• PLI Press Publications Books, treatises, and reference materials produced by PLI's publishing arm covering substantive law topics, law firm management, restrictive covenants, AI and intellectual property, and other emerging legal practice areas.
• Noncompete Agreements and Related Restrictive Covenants Treatise State-by-state reference treatise on noncompete agreements and restrictive covenants covering all 50 states and Washington, D.C., serving as a first-stop resource for attorneys and in-house counsel handling restrictive covenant matters.
• Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Treatise Authoritative treatise from PLI Press examining how artificial intelligence challenges and redefines traditional intellectual property frameworks, covering copyright, patents, trade secrets, and data rights.
• AI Governance Professional Education Series Continuing professional education series developed with AAA and Creative Lawyers providing AI governance training, best-practice guidance, and survey findings for legal leaders navigating AI-related legal issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Covers all 50 states and Washington D.C. in restrictive covenant guidance
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• American Arbitration Association (AAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026AAA partnered with Creative Lawyers and PLI to launch a professional education series supporting legal leaders in AI governance. The partnership showcases AI governance best practices and shares preliminary survey findings, providing continuing education on emerging AI-related legal issues.
• Creative LawyerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Creative Lawyers collaborates with AAA and PLI to develop and deliver a professional education series on AI governance for legal leaders, combining expertise from arbitration, legal innovation, and professional education.
• PaladincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Paladin and PLI partnered to integrate skills training with pro bono work for law students. The collaboration connects students using Paladin's platform to PLI's training programs, enhancing experiential learning and practical skills development for future legal professionals.
• Innovation Council MembersflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2025PLI launched its first Innovation Council comprising legal and corporate sector leaders who advise on innovation trends, collaborative opportunities, and resource development for technological integration in the legal industry.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Strafford: Strafford delivers continuing professional education via webinars and on-demand programming for attorneys, accountants, and other professionals. It directly competes with PLI's on-demand CLE offerings.
• National Business Institute (NBI): NBI offers CLE seminars, webinars, and on-demand programs for attorneys nationwide. It directly competes with PLI for CLE-attending attorneys, particularly in regional and mid-market segments.
• Lorman Education Services: Lorman provides on-demand and live continuing education to attorneys, accountants, and HR professionals across all 50 states. It directly competes with PLI in the accredited CLE market for practicing attorneys.
• Center for American and International Law (CAIL): CAIL is a nonprofit provider of continuing legal education programs, particularly in international, comparative, and procedural law. It overlaps with PLI in nonprofit CLE delivery to specialized attorney segments.
• American Law Institute (ALI): ALI is a nonprofit organization producing scholarly legal restatements, model codes, and CLE-eligible programs. It serves a similar attorney audience and overlaps with PLI in authoritative legal content and continuing education.
• BARBRI: BARBRI is a leading provider of bar exam preparation and continuing legal education for attorneys. It directly competes with PLI in the CLE market serving the same attorney and law student customer segments.

Emerging players

• LawPracticeCLE: LawPracticeCLE is an on-demand CLE provider focused on practice management and technology topics for attorneys. It is an emerging player competing with PLI in modern, niche CLE subject areas.

Broad incumbents

• LexisNexis Legal & Professional: LexisNexis provides legal research, publishing, and increasingly CLE/practice guidance content to attorneys globally. As a much larger incumbent, it overlaps with PLI in legal publishing and professional learning.
• Thomson Reuters (West Legal Education): Thomson Reuters operates Westlaw and West Legal Education Center, serving legal professionals with research, publishing, and CLE. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping products in legal learning and treatises.
• Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory: Wolters Kluwer provides legal reference publishing (Aspen, CCH) and practice tools to attorneys. It overlaps with PLI Press in legal treatise publishing and serves the same professional customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/practlawinst
• Facebookfacebook.com/122670126888
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/practising-law-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Practicing Law Institute