Louisiana Supreme Court Amends Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15

On November 27, 2018, the Louisiana Supreme Court amended the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 concerning how lawyers and law firms should handle unclaimed funds accumulated in their IOTA accounts. The amended rule directs lawyers who discover unclaimed funds defined as client or third person funds on deposit in an IOLTA account for at least two years that after reasonable due diligence the owner cannot be located or the owner refused to accept the funds, to be remitted to the Louisiana Bar Foundation. The new rule was effective on November 27, 2018.