IOLTA Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts

Text Box: The Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program was established by the Legislature in 1984 to assist in the delivery of legal services to the poor. The Connecticut Bar Foundation was charged with the responsibility of receiving and distributing the interest generated from the lawyers' trust accounts. In 1989, IOLTA became a mandatory program and was amended to include scholarships for students demonstrating financial need attending law schools in Connecticut. The statute was amended in 2005 to include funds from all entities having an account “. . . established to receive loan proceeds from a mortgage lender . . .” (IOTA). Please click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding IOLTA accounts. In June 2010, the Judges of the Superior Court voted to amend the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.15, to clarify what factors attorneys could consider when placing client’s funds in their IOLTA accounts, to include a Safe Harbor Option for rate parity, and to define U.S. Government Securities. Please click here for a copy of the amended court rule, Rule 1.15. In 2006, the Connecticut Bar Foundation was charged with determining which financial institutions are eligible to offer IOLTA accounts under the rate parity requirements of Rule 1.15. Please click here for a listing of the current “eligible financial institutions”. In an effort to replace drastically reduced IOLTA revenue, the legislature passed certain court fee increases effective July 1, 2009. Please click here for a copy of the Public Act # 09-152, PA 09-152. Under the program, the judicial branch transfers the revenue from the fee increases to the CBF quarterly. The CBF distributes the funds pursuant to Section 51-81c of the Connecticut General Statutes to current IOLTA grantees for the purpose of funding the delivery of legal services to the poor. The first year of grants distributed from these funds by the CBF totaled $8,771,499. Since 1987, The Foundation has awarded $176,679,110 in grants from all sources: $160,397,671 for legal services for the poor in IOLTA/IOTA Grants $ 3,424,001 for legal services for the poor in Judicial Branch Grants-in-Aid $ 8,771,499 for legal services for the poor in Court Fee Grants-in-Aid (through July 2010) $ 4,085,939 for scholarships For the 2010 grant year, the Board has awarded grants to ten non-profit organizations to provide civil legal representation to poor people in Connecticut. Connecticut Legal Services, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, and the New Haven Legal Assistance Association provide general legal assistance. In addition, grants were awarded to the Center for Children's Advocacy to provide legal advice to poor children statewide; the Children's Law Center to provide representation to low income children in Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties; Lawyers for Children America to provide representation to poor children in Hartford, Fairfield, and New Haven counties; Connecticut Fair Housing Center to ensure equal access to housing opportunities for Connecticut residents with scarce financial resources; Connecticut Legal Rights Project to serve low income people with legal needs who are patients in state psychiatric hospitals and after discharge; and AIDS Legal Network to provide legal assistance to low income people in the state with HIV/AIDS. The Foundation’s new grantee, Statewide Legal Services provides intake, legal advice, self-help, brief service and pro-bono referral to the poor throughout the state. To learn about IOLTA programs in other states, please click here: IOLTA.ORG. The American Bar Association Commission on IOLTA has additional information regarding IOLTA programs, news, litigation and dialogue. To learn more, please click here: ABA Commission on IOLTA.

Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)

Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA)

Court Fees Grants-in-Aid (CFGIA)

IOLTA Court Rule

Enrollment Form

CT Practice Book

Sec. 2-27 & 2-28

Grant & Scholarship

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Email: ctbf@cbf-1.org