Most money held by lawyers on behalf of clients or third parties are held in an IOLTA account (Interest On Lawyers Trust Account). All client trust accounts must be maintained at a bank that agrees to report to the State Bar when there is not enough money in the trust account to cover any check presented for payment. A lawyer’s trust account is only for client or third party funds, and the lawyer should not have his own money in the trust account.

All payments made from a trust account must be made by a pre-numbered check or by wire transfer. The lawyer is required to have an account ledger (or something similar) so that each individual client’s monies can be tracked separately. A lawyer must keep all client trust account records for five (5) years. A lawyer must tell the client about his or her funds held in the trust account when a client asks for the information.

In rare instances, clients have been concerned that their attorneys took funds to which he/she was not entitled. Those occurrences should be reported right away to the State Bar by calling 602-340-7280. Information about trust accounts and the Bar's Client Protection Fund may be helpful in these cases.