Who pays any costs of maintaining these accounts, for example, bank service charges, if imposed?
The rules provide that the interest on the pooled trust accounts paid to the Lawyers Trust Account Board is “net of any transaction costs.” (Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15(f)(1)). Thus, any transaction costs the financial institution may impose for maintaining the account would be deducted by the institution from the interest that was paid over to the Lawyers Trust Account Board. Transaction costs do not include the cost of printing checks or NSF charges. The Board urges attorneys to familiarize themselves with service charges applied by the financial institution to IOLTA accounts.
