Are attorneys with very small trust accounts required to participate in the IOLTA program?
A. No. Maryland Business Occupations Code Ann., Section 10-303 (c) permits the Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation with the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, to excuse an attorney or law firm from participating “that demonstrates that it will cost the Maryland Legal Services Corporation Fund more in service charges to open and maintain an attorney trust account for the purposes of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation Fund than will be generated in interest by the attorney trust account.” While the charges vary between participating financial institutions, in most instances an attorney who does not maintain an average monthly balance of at least $3,500 in a trust account will not be required to participate. The Annual IOLTA Compliance form permits attorneys to request a waiver from the IOLTA requirement by affirming that their combined trust account balance does not exceed an average monthly balance of at least $3,500 (see Compliance Question 4). In addition, an I
