JACPA Ethics Alert Florida Bar Board of Governors approves revisions requiring written trust accoun t plans and

requiring reports of non-compliance to law firm or Florida Bar Hello and welcome to this JACPA Ethics Alert blog which will update my 4/19/12 Ethics Alert discussing the recent Florida Bar Board of Governors appr oval of revisions to trust account rules which, inter alia, requiring written pl ans listing responsible lawyers. A sample plan is attached and the proposed rul es are on the Bar s website: www.floridabar.org. As I previously indicated, the proposed rules were approved by the Board of Gove rnors at its meeting on March 23, 2012 and would require multiple member law fir ms to have a written trust accounting plan which includes the names of the lawye r(s) who are responsible for reconciliation of the law firms trust accounts and a nswering any questions about the trust account. The written plan would not be r equired to be filed with The Florida Bar. Importantly, the proposed rules also state that any lawyer who has actual knowled ge that the firms trust account(s) or trust accounting procedures are not in comp liance with chapter 5 may report the noncompliance to the managing partner or sh areholder of the lawyers firm. If the noncompliance is not corrected within a re asonable time, the lawyer must report the noncompliance to staff counsel for the bar if required to do so pursuant to the reporting requirements of chapter 4. ( emphasis supplied). The proposed rules are scheduled to be submitted to the Supreme Court of Florida this fall as part of the Bars Biannual amendment petition regarding the Rules Re gulating The Florida Bar. The sample written plan forms would be included as pa rt of the revised trust accounting rules. Proposed Rule 5-1.2(c) Responsibility of Lawyers for Firm Trust Accounts and Rep orting (which would be an entirely new subsection) states in full as follows: (1) Every law firm with more than 1 lawyer must have a written plan in place for supervision and compliance with this rule for each of the firms trust account(s) , which plan must be disseminated to each lawyer in the firm. The written plan m ust include the name(s) of the lawyer(s) who sign trust account checks for the l aw firm, the name(s) of the lawyer(s) who are responsible for reconciliation of the law firms trust account(s) monthly and annually and the name(s) of the lawyer (s) who are responsible for answering any questions that lawyers in the firm may have about the firms trust account(s). This written plan must be updated and reissued to each lawyer in the firm whenever there are material changes to the pla n, such as a change in the lawyer(s) signing trust account checks and/or reconci liation of the firms trust account(s). ** (2) Every lawyer is responsible for that lawyers own actions regarding trust acco unt funds subject to the requirements of chapter 4 of these rules. Any lawyer wh o has actual knowledge that the firms trust account(s) or trust accounting proced ures are not in compliance with chapter 5 may report the noncompliance to the ma naging partner or shareholder of the lawyers firm. If the noncompliance is not co rrected within a reasonable time, the lawyer must report the noncompliance to st aff counsel for the bar if required to do so pursuant to the reporting requireme nts of chapter 4. Bottom line: As I said in my previous Ethics Alert, if approved by the Florida Supreme Court, these proposed trust account rules will be a very sub stantive change in the trust account rules and will add another layer of respons ibility and regulation to the Bar Rules. As I also indicated in my 4/18/12 Ethi cs Alert, in its April 12, 2012 opinion, the Florida Supreme Court declined to i

mplement proposed Rule 5-1.2(d) (Signing Trust Account Checks), which would have required that a lawyer sign every trust account check with his or her actual si gnature and would have prohibited lawyers from using a signature stamp or signin g a trust account check in blank. The Court returned the issue to the Bar for m ore study on the proposed rules impact on sole and small firm practitioners. Be careful out there! As always, if you have any questions about this Ethics Alert or need assistance, analysis, and guidance regarding these or any other ethics, risk ma nagement, or other issues, please do not hesitate to contact me. THE LAW OFFICE OF JOSEPH A. CORSMEIER, P.A. PROVIDES ETHICS ADVICE AND EXPERT OPINIONS TO LAWYERS AND LAW FIRMS DEFENDS LAWYERS IN BAR MISSION AND DISCIPLINE CASES (AND MUCH MORE!) My law firm focuses on review, analysis, and interpretation of the Rules Regulat ing The Florida Bar, advice and representation of lawyers in Bar disciplinary ma tters, defense of applicants for admission to The Florida Bar before the Board o f Bar Examiners, defense of all Florida licensed professionals in discipline and admission matters before all state agencies and boards, expert ethics opinions, and practice management for lawyers and law firms. If there is a lawyer or oth er Florida professional license involved, I can defend the complaint or help you get your license. If you have any questions or comments, please call me at (727) 799-1688 or e-mai l me at jcorsmeier@jac-law.com. You can find my law firm on the web at www.jaclaw.com. In addition to handling individual cases, matters, problems and issues for my clients, I also am on retainer to provide ethics advice to numerous lawye rs and law firms throughout the state of Florida. I also provide legal assistan ce and advice to numerous individuals and non-legal entities to help insure comp liance with the law and rules related to UPL and other issues. Disclaimer: this e-mail does not contain any legal advice and the comments here in should not be relied upon by anyone who reads it. Joseph A. Corsmeier, Esquire Law Office of Joseph A. Corsmeier, P.A. 2454 McMullen Booth Road, Suite 431 Clearwater, Florida 33759 Office (727) 799-1688 Fax (727) 799-1670 jcorsmeier@jac-law.com www.jac-law.com NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This electronic communication and the information co ntained herein is legally privileged and confidential proprietary information in tended only for the individual and/or entity to whom it is addressed pursuant to the American Bar Association Formal Opinion No. 99-413, dated March 10, 1999 an d all other applicable laws and rules. If you receive this transmission in erro r, you are advised that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance upon the communication is strictly prohibited. Any unaut horized use, distribution, or disclosure of this communication is strictly prohi bited. If you have received this in error, please notify us immediately by retu rn e-mail at the above telephone number and then delete message entirely from yo ur system. Thank you for your cooperation.