Ethics Committee Formal Opinion #1990-91/10
Trust Funds: Application of Retainer to Final Bill
April 11, 1991
ANNOTATION:
A lawyer may not hold a client’s retainer in the lawyer’s client trust account (non-interest bearing) unless such funds are “nominal in amount” or held for “a short period to time”, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 50. (Rule 1.15(a)(1)).
QUESTION:
May the inquiring attorney deposit in his or her client trust account a client retainer that the attorney expects to hold until the conclusion of the representation, which might be several years, without paying the client interest on the retainer?