FL Supreme Court approves rule change on IOLTA

On Nov. 9, the Florida Supreme Court approved a proposed rule change to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar that will allow attorneys to open their Interest On Lawyer Trust Accounts (in Florida known as IOLTAs) in credit unions. The proposed rule was initiated by the LSCU in January 2015 shortly after then-President Obama signed the Share Insurance Parity Act, allowing federal insurance to protect these accounts. Senior VP, Association Services & Governmental Affairs Jared Ross led the League’s efforts.

The Florida Bar only proposes rule changes every other year, and once proposed, the Supreme Court must ratify them. While the rule was approved for change by the Bar’s Board of Governor’s last year, the Supreme Court chose to not take up any rule changes until today, when the rule was finalized. The League will begin working with the Florida Bar on education for credit unions interested in working on IOLTAs.

Thank you to all who helped make this happen. The official rule change is on pages 42-44 of the official Florida Supreme Court order.  Click here to view the order.