.1301 Purpose
The IOLTA Board of Trustees (board) shall carry out the provisions of the Plan for Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts and administer the IOLTA program (NC IOLTA). Any funds remitted to the North Carolina State Bar from banks by reason of interest earned on general trust accounts established by lawyers pursuant to Rule 1.15-2(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct or interest earned on trust or escrow accounts maintained by settlement agents pursuant to N.C.G.S. 45A-9 shall be deposited by the North Carolina State Bar through the board in a special account or accounts which shall be segregated from other funds of whatever nature received by the State Bar.
The funds received, and any interest, dividends, or other proceeds earned on or with respect to these funds, net of banking charges described in section .1316(e)(1), shall be used for programs concerned with the improvement of the administration of justice, under the supervision and direction of the NC IOLTA Board. The board will award grants or non-interest bearing loans under the four categories approved by the North Carolina Supreme Court being mindful of its tax exempt status and the IRS rulings that private interests of the legal profession are not to be funded with IOLTA funds.
The programs for which the funds may be awarded are:
(1) providing civil legal services for indigents;
(2) enhancement and improvement of grievance and disciplinary procedures to protect the public more fully from incompetent or unethical attorneys;
(3) development and maintenance of a fund for student loans to enable meritorious persons to obtain a legal education who would not otherwise have adequate funds for this purpose;
(4) such other programs designed to improve the administration of justice as may from time to time be proposed by the board and approved by the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
History Note: Statutory Authority G.S. 84-23
Readopted Effective December 8, 1994
Amendments Approved by the Supreme Court: April 3, 1996; March 6, 1997; March 6, 2008; March 8, 2012
