Can a lawyer keep client funds in the office instead of depositing them in a trust account?
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This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The committee addressed whether a lawyer could maintain client funds in the lawyer's office rather than depositing them in a trust account. The committee was unanimous that RPC 1.14 is meant to protect clients and is intended as an absolute prohibition against handling client funds in any way other than as the rule permits.
On that reading, the committee concluded it would be improper for a lawyer to keep client funds in the office, and that RPC 1.14 requires all client funds to be deposited into a trust account.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1986, before the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. RPC 1.14 on safekeeping client funds was later renumbered and amended. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: Can a lawyer hold client money in the office rather than a trust account?
A: No. The committee concluded it would be improper for a lawyer to maintain client funds in the office, because RPC 1.14 requires all client funds to be deposited into a trust account.
Q: How strictly did the committee read RPC 1.14?
A: The committee read it as an absolute prohibition against handling client funds in any way other than as the rule permits, describing the rule as meant to protect clients.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Washington RPC 1.14 as it stood in 1986, which governed safekeeping of client funds and property (corresponding to Model Rule 1.15). The committee treated the rule as an absolute prohibition against handling client funds outside the rule's terms and read it to require deposit of all client funds into a trust account.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Washington RPC 1.14 (safekeeping client funds; deposit into a trust account), corresponding to Model Rule 1.15.
See also
- WSBA Ethics Op. 984: an in-house account for a firm's employees' own funds is not a client-money issue
- WSBA Ethics Op. 969: keeping a client trust account at a brokerage qualified as a public depository
Source
- Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=102
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Advisory Opinion: 991
Year Issued: 1986
RPC(s): RPC 1.14
Subject: Maintaining client funds in lawyer's office instead of trust account
The Committee was of the unanimous opinion that RPC 1.14 is meant to protect clients and is intended to be an absolute prohibition against lawyers handling client funds in any way other than as permitted by that rule. Therefore, the Committee was of the unanimous opinion that it would be improper for a lawyer to maintain client funds in his office, and that the rule requires that all client funds be deposited into a trust account pursuant to RPC 1.14.
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