Does maintaining IOLTA accounts deprive clients of any funds to which they are entitled?
. No. Trust moneys of the type placed in IOLTA accounts (nominal in amount or expected to be held for a short duration) have traditionally been deposited in lawyers’ pooled trust accounts. Prior to the establishing of IOLTA programs, such accounts did not earn interest. The North Carolina State Bar now requires general trust accounts to earn interest, which is remitted to NC IOLTA for funding law-related charitable purposes. Of course, lawyers still retain complete discretion to determine whether a trust deposit is of sufficient size or duration to justify placement in a separate (dedicated) interest bearing account.
