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Mandatory IOLTA
A RESOLUTION OF
THE NORTH CAROLINA EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION
Whereas, the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission (the Commission) established by the NC Supreme Court is a body that includes representatives from bar organizations, the judiciary, legal aid providers, the legislature, the business, philanthropic and client communities and the law schools united in a vision to create deeper understanding and support within the bar, the judiciary and the public for access to justice throughout North Carolina and to assist that effort through leadership, planning and financial support in a variety of arenas;
Whereas, the Commission has studied the legal needs of the indigent population in North Carolina in obtaining basic necessities and learned that no more than 20% of the legal needs of the poor are being met, and that North Carolina lags behind the national average in dollars per poor person provided for these needs from almost every funding source;
Whereas, the North Carolina State Bar Plan for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (NC IOLTA) is a vital source of funding for the provision of civil legal service to the poor through grants made to staffed legal services programs and volunteer lawyer programs that serve every county in the state and for other programs that work to improve the administration of justice;
Whereas, with 75% of eligible North Carolina lawyers participating in NC IOLTA, that program will be administering $3.7 million in grants for 2007, using funds generated from the interest on pooled client trust accounts;
Whereas, in 32 of 52 United States jurisdictions in which IOLTA programs operate the program is comprehensive, i.e., all attorneys who keep general client trust accounts are obliged to participate in the program, and, according to information provided by the ABA Commission on IOLTA, all programs that have moved to comprehensive or mandatory status have shown significant income increases;
Whereas, the Commission believes that moving NC IOLTA to a comprehensive or mandatory IOLTA program is an excellent way to provide additional support for North Carolina’s access to justice community and programs;
NOW, THEREFORE, the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission recognizes and thanks the North Carolina State Bar for its efforts to advance the concept of mandatory IOLTA and for its work to prepare appropriate rule revisions for consideration by the Council at the appropriate time, and it adopts the following resolution:
The North Carolina State Bar is urged to adopt provisions to implement a comprehensive IOLTA program providing that all North Carolina attorneys who hold general client trust accounts are obliged as a part of their professional responsibilities to the public to participate in the program and thereby increase significantly funds available to improve the provision of legal services to indigent persons in North Carolina, to increase access to our justice system and otherwise to improve the administration of justice throughout the State of North Carolina.
This the 23 day of February 2007.
/s/ Sarah Elizabeth Parker /s/
Sarah E. Parker, Chief Justice
North Carolina Supreme Court
Chair, The North Carolina Equal Access to Justice
Commission
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