The idea to fund legal aid organizations through use of IOLTA funds was a stroke of genius that provided ample financial support and harmed no one. At its peak in Connecticut in 2007, IOLTA funding amounted to $20 Million, and Connecticut’s legal aid organizations were supported at a stable and even generous level. Because the need for legal services for the poor always exceeds the supply, it could not be said that all such needs were met, but the situation was better than it had been in recent memory.
All that has changed, of course, as have so many financial arrangements in the past few years. Due to the collapse of the real estate market and precipitous decline in interest rates, IOLTA funds dropped to about $4 Million in 2009 and in 2012 they amounted to less than $1 Million. The halcyon days of IOLTA funding are over, and given the financial realities of today, no one predicts their return.
