Of the thousands of ethics complaints filed each year to the Pennsylvania Office of Disciplinary Council, violations involving IOLTA accounts—a particular type of trust account whose use is mandatory for all lawyers who handle qualified client funds—represent a significant portion of discipline dispersed against Pennsylvania attorneys.
While specific numbers aren’t available under a 2022 amendment to Rule 209 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, multiple sources confirmed that “lawyers who mishandle their trust accounts … usually what I would call mismanagements—they disproportionately find themselves subject to discipline,” in the words of practicing attorney and Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility chair Daniel Siegel.
