Ethics Forum: Questions and Answers on Professional Responsibility
Can I have my secretary or nonlawyer be a signer on a check from my escrow account and my operating account?
December 26, 2019 at 12:06 PM
8 minute read
A secretary or nonlawyer employee cannot sign an escrow account check.
Can I have my secretary or nonlawyer be a signer on a check from my escrow account and my operating account?
Samuel C. Stretton.
The answer for the escrow/IOLTA account is no. The answer for the attorney account is the better practice is not to. Lawyers like to have stamps with their signature, which they then give to their secretary or paralegal to use, so checks can be written and paid. This is a very dangerous practice.
This writer has represented a number of lawyers over the years where valued, trusted, and long-employed secretaries or assistants used a signature stamp to misuse funds or steal funds from the lawyer.
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