Trust Account Care and Feeding Daniel M. Mills, Esq. Manager, Practice Management Advisory Service District of Columbia Bar dmills @dcbar.org Sponsored by Rocket Matter, LLC April 22, 2010
Trust Account Care and Feeding
Daniel M. Mills, Esq.Manager, Practice Management Advisory Service
District of Columbia [email protected]
Sponsored by Rocket Matter, LLCApril 22, 2010
The basics.Keeping records.FAQ’s.Your questions.How Rocket Matter handles Trust Accounting.
TOPICS
It starts with the fee agreement and Model Rule
1.5(b)
Is based in Model Rule 1.15 & Safe
Keeping of Property
Basic concept: Keep our property separate from the
property of the client or third party
Operating Trust
Funds must be kept in a separate
account
Client provides advanced fees which are deposited into trust until work is performed
billed in adherence to fee agreement
Advanced Fees
Every jurisdiction has its rule about maintaining the lawyer’s trust
account
Every jurisdiction has a variation of
IOLTA Interest on Lawyer
Trust Account
Complete records of the trust account must be
maintained and
preserved.
Be able to show the history of the trust account with records from three views: client
third partyoverall account
What goes into the trust account?
Trust
?
What comes out of the trust account?
Trust
?
When can we put our own money into the trust
account?
Can we ever withdraw cash from the trust
account?
The settlement check just arrived.
What do I do?
My clients are arguing over the proceeds of the
sale. What do I do?
My client disputes part of my
statement but not all of it.
What should I do?
Can a client waive having funds go
into the trust account?
DEMO