SC BAR

Answer: Unless the attorney’s practice falls under a specified exclusion or the attorney receives a hardship exemption from the South Carolina Bar Foundation, the attorney will have to open a trust account in South Carolina to comply with the new IOLTA rules.

 

Rule 412 requires attorneys licensed in South Carolina who practice law “from an office or other business location within the state of South Carolina” to deposit nominal or short-term funds in an IOLTA account that is defined as an interest bearing account benefiting the Bar Foundation. The Bar Foundation is given authority to establish procedures to exempt certain accounts. If the attorney’s practice in South Carolina does not require the maintenance of trust/escrow accounts or the attorney does not have an office or maintain funds in banks in the state, the Bar Foundation has already provided for an exclusion. If the attorney feels that maintaining a South Carolina IOLTA account would create an undue hardship or would be extremely impractical, he or she may request a hardship exemption by making a request in writing to the Bar Foundation's Board of Directors.