In an ethics practice, where virtually all callers are attorneys, we hear certain questions with surprising frequency. There may be value in repeating them and discussing them here. If you have no such concerns, dear reader, please be patient, and let this column empower you. Let it help you to inform or assist a colleague who may be laboring under a misapprehension or misunderstanding of the law. Please read on, despite your having no skin in the game, because you probably have a friend who does.
What if I bounce a trust check?
Commingling client funds or having a negative trust balance even for a minute will get a lawyer in trouble. How much trouble depends on what is revealed by the subsequent investigation. Overdrafts are often the result of human error, an incorrect bank code or sloppy, non-existent or non-conforming recordkeeping by the lawyer. There is no de minimis offense. The clarion call of any bounced trust check will bring the hounds.
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