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Client Trust Accounting Resources

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The provided resources are organized into five categories: rules and statutes; publications and articles; forms; ethics opinions; and online videos. This webpage is not intended to be a comprehensive collection of client trust accounting resources.

Rules and statutes

These provisions relate to a lawyer's responsibilities in receiving, maintaining, and accounting for the funds of a client or a third party, including fees for legal services.

  • Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 Safekeeping Funds and Property of Clients and Other Persons
  • Business and Professions Code section 6211 Maintenance of Interest Bearing IOLTA Account; Payment of Interest and Dividends into Fund
  • Business and Professions Code section 6212 Requirements in Establishing Client Trust Accounts; Amount of Interest; Remittance to State Bar; Statements and Reports
  • Business and Professions Code section 6213 Definitions

Publications and Articles

Client Trust Accounting Handbook

The trust accounting handbook is a practical guide created to assist attorneys to comply with recordkeeping standards for client trust accounts that went into effect January 1, 1993. The handbook includes:

  • a copy of the standards and statutes relating to an attorney's trust accounting requirements;
  • a step-by-step description of how to maintain a client trust account;
  • index of selected cases and opinions by topic; and
  • sample forms.

The Handbook on Client Trust Accounting for California Attorneys is only available online.

Articles

  • Don't Buy a Yacht with Client Trust Funds and Other Practical Reminders Concerning Client Funds and Property, LACBA Update, June 2018, Elizabeth Bradley
  • Troubling Survey Results, California Bar Journal, April 2016
  • Client Trust Accounting: What you don't know can hurt you, California Bar Journal, July 2015, Randall Difuntorum
  • How much do you know about Client Trust Accounting, California Bar Journal, June 2015, Laura Ernde
  • IOLTAs and Client Trust Accounts, ABA GP Solo Magazine, July 2011, Carole Buckner

Forms

Find forms for IOLTA

The following are forms and templates not published by the State Bar of California. These links are provided as research resources but are not approved by the State Bar.

  • Managing Your Client Trust Account: Where the Buck Stops, ABA Law Practice Magazine, Jan/Feb 2011, Sheila Blackford (includes links to form templates and samples).

Ethics Opinions

The following are State Bar and local California bar association ethics opinions relating to trust accounts:

  • CAL 1975-36: Ethical responsibilities involved in preserving the identity of trust account funds
  • CAL 1988-97: Lay signatory on the client trust account?
  • CAL 2002-159: Loan funds in an escrow account for legal fees
  • CAL 2005-169: Overdraft protection on client trust accounts
  • CAL 2006-171: Return withdrawn funds to the client trust account when client disputes the fee
  • CAL 2007-172: Accepting credit card payments from a client
  • CAL 2008-175: Client instructions regarding prior attorney's lien
  • CAL 2009-177: Ethical obligations in enforcing charging liens
  • CAL 2013-187: Third party payors
  • LA 454 (1988): Ethical Responsibilities to Third Parties in Handling Trust Accounts
  • LA 484 (1995): Commingling of Client Trust Account Funds - no longer available on the LACBA website
  • LA 485 (1995): Client trust accounts - no longer available on the LACBA website
  • SF 1970-3: Use of Trustee Savings Account
  • SF 1973-14: Placement of Refundable Portion of Advance Fee
  • SF 1974-3: Confidentiality of Source of Funds
  • SF 1980-1: Placement of "Flat" or "Fixed"

Online Audio and Video Resources

The following are online audio and video resources related to client trust accounting. Some are free informational videos from various sources and others are MCLE programs that can be found on the State Bar Sections CLE catalog.

Informational videos

State Bar of California

  • 10-Minute Mentor Video: Understanding Attorney Client Trust Accounts, California Young Lawyers Association, State Bar of California, Speaker: Robert Hawley

Out-of-State

  • Trust Account Basics, Colorado Bar Association

MCLE

  • Understanding Attorney Client Trust Accounts, Legal Services Trust Fund (Annual Meeting 2013)
  • Client Trust Accounts: Understanding the Ins and Outs, Legal Services Trust Fund Program/ Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (Annual Meeting 2011)
  • Client Trust Accounting, Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (Annual Meeting 2011)
  • Keeping Your Client Trust Account and Collecting Your Fee, Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (Annual Meeting 2010)

Client Trust Accounts and Bank Stability Concerns

  • Attorney Information
  • FAQs

Ethics Hotline

For questions concerning client trust accounting rules and standards, contact the Ethics Hotline:
800-238-4427 (toll-free in California)
415-538-2150 (from outside California)

Related Links

  • IOLTA FAQ
  • California IOLTA-Eligible Financial Institutions
  • IOLTA Guidelines
  • List of Approved Local Bar Mandatory Fee Arbitration Programs
  • Fee Arbitration - Arbitration Advisories
  • Fee Arbitration - Case Summaries
  • 10-Minute Mentor: Understanding Attorney Client Trust Accounts
  • You can get more information about IOLTA on the State Bar website. Contact IOLTA at 415-538-2252 or email iolta@calbar.ca.gov
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