Trust Accounting

The North Carolina State Bar's
Trust Account Handbook

Introduction

On a daily basis, a lawyer in private practice receives, holds and disburses money that belongs to the lawyer's clients and to third parties in conjunction with the representation of clients. Millions of dollars flow through the hands of lawyers while serving clients--making the handling of client funds one of the most significant fiduciary obligations of lawyers to their clients. To reduce the possibility of theft, misappropriation or mishandling of client funds, the North Carolina State Bar established trust accounting standards in Rules 1.15-1, 1.15-2, and 1.15-3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and implemented a program of random audits of lawyers' trust accounts. This handbook explains the requirements for segregating, safekeeping, and record keeping for client funds, and how the random audit program works. The purpose of the handbook is to answer questions about establishing a trust account, deposits and disbursements from a trust account, record keeping for a trust account, and what to expect when you are selected for audit by the State Bar auditor. If the handbook fails to answer your specific question, please contact the State Bar for further assistance.

Lawyer's Trust Account Handbook (revised December 2014)

Reconciliation - Read Bruno's Top Tips for Tip Top Trust Accounting on reconciliation (from the Fall 2010 Journal)