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Supreme Court Preserves IOLTA Legal Aid Funding

By Tony Mauro
August 13, 2003

The Supreme Court of the United States has rescued Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) programs from a vigorous constitutional attack, ruling 5'4 that states may pool clients' escrow funds in bank accounts and give the interest to legal aid programs.

The March 26 ruling was a major victory for legal aid organizations in all 50 states, which depend heavily on IOLTA. Last year, IOLTA programs, usually administered by state courts, generated more than $200 million for such programs, making them second only to the Legal Services Corp. as a funding source.

'We're pleased that this critical funding source will remain intact,' said Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill in a statement. 'IOLTA funding allows the poorest Texans access to basic legal services, services that are desperately needed to protect women and children from domestic violence and to provide legal assistance to the elderly who have nowhere else to turn.'

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