In reviewing my escrow account, I noticed I am still holding a very small amount of money paid by a client many years ago as a legal retainer. The client dropped all contact with my office and I have tried numerous times but have been unable to contact him. What can I do with this money?
If one is holding money for a client, there has to be serious effort made to send the money back to the client if it’s unearned and the lawyer is no longer representing the client. Assuming the lawyer has made appropriate efforts through the post office and online resources and through other family members to contact the client, without success, then the lawyer should still maintain the money in his or her escrow account for several years at least. If it’s a substantial amount of money as opposed to a small amount, then the money has to be removed from the IOLTA account and placed in an interest-bearing escrow account in case the client should ever reappear. If the money is a small amount, it should be maintained in the IOLTA account. The lawyer then has several options.
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