The VBA Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Bar Association.
Issue link: http://vba.epubxp.com/i/80228
Court of Virginia to require IOLTA participation, as 44 other U.S. jurisdictions do. Te bill died in committee after opposition from the Virginia Bankers Association. When lawyers keep client trust money in non-IOLTA accounts, no interest is paid and the banks get free use of the funds to invest for their own purposes. Te VBA has helped in other ways as well. Te exciting new JusticeServer case management software that grew out of the VBA's leadership in the Supreme Court's Pro Bono Summit in 2010 promises not only to increase the number of cases that legal aid can refer to pro bono lawyers, but also to make legal aid's internal case management more efficient and less expensive. We hope that the VBA will help us spread the word about the need for full IOLTA participation. As Braley describes the need to nonlawyers around the state, he focuses on a civics lesson that lawyers know well. "Te foundation of any great democracy is the justice you can achieve in its legal system, and whether the playing field is level for everybody, regardless of your economic status," he says. "Everybody should have access to the same legal system and the same ability to represent and protect their rights." Q Dawn Chase is the director of communications for Virginia Legal Aid.