Ethics opinions from the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committees on Professional and Judicial Ethics concerning a lawyer's duty in safekeeping a client's property.

Opinion

R-7 Trust Account Handling
R-21 Management of Trust Accounts & Overdraft Notification Rule
R-22 Abdication of Trust Account Management Unethical
RI-38 Disbursements Ready for Missing Client
RI-58 Handling Retainer from Missing Prospective Client
RI-61 Resolving Dispute over Funds
RI-64 Apportioning Trust Account Interest
RI-65 Using Excess Trust Funds as Client Surety
RI-67 Conversion of Unclaimed Client Funds
RI-69 Deposit of Retainers & Fixed Fees
RI-70 Multistate Practice & Trust Accounts
RI-71 Insured Accounts
RI-92 Duties of Law Firm Associates
RI-93 Duty to Establish Trust Account
RI-107 Bank Account Signatories
RI-189 Clearing Proceeds Through Trust Account
RI-222 Disbursement Unnegotiated by Client
RI-224 Accounting to Referring Lawyer
RI-303 Court Awarded Sanctions and/or Attorney Fees
RI-329 Prosecutor Holding Victim Restitution Funds
RI-344 Use of Credit Cards for Payment of Fees
RI-384 Lawyers and law firms must ensure that all funds maintained within an IOLTA are accounted for.

Other References

• A Discussion of Trust Accounts for Michigan Attorneys
• Michigan State Bar Foundation IOLTA Program Changes
• MRPC 1.15 Vol. 73 MBJ 952 (Sep 1994)
• State Bar Grievance Administrator v. Haynes, 406 Mich 634 (1979)
• State Bar Grievance Administrator v Silverman, 408 Mich 100 (1980)

Notice to Lawyers:
State Bar of Michigan ethics opinions are advisory and non-binding in nature. This index is a complete historical catalog. Some of the listed ethics opinions, though not expressly superseded in subsequent ethics opinions, may be nonetheless outmoded or no longer sound due to subsequent changes in case law, statutes, or court rules. Practitioners are urged to thoroughly research all sources to determine the current validity of any given ethics opinion.