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The CTAPP program rolled out gradually in the early parts of 2023 and brought with it a large wave of regulation changes regarding managing client trust accounts. The catalyst being the gross mishandling of client funds amongst many licensed attorneys in the state of California.
This resulted in the State Bar placing over 1,600 attorneys on inactive status, and in a high-profile lawsuit, attorney Tom Girardi was exposed for stealing millions from his legal clients. These occurrences signified the need for reform in how attorneys approached their fiduciary obligations.
CTAPP stands for Client Trust Account Protection Program.
The Client Trust Account Protection Program's goal (CTAPP or Rule 2.5) is to support, assist, and educate attorneys on maintaining client trust accounts in congruence with the ethical requirements mandated by the State Bar. CTAPP works in correlation with Rule 1.15, “Safekeeping Funds and Property of Clients and Other Persons.”
This comprises the framework for the new requirements regarding the legal process to handle client trust accounts. In a CTAPP overview, these are three main pillars within the program:
Attorneys must register their client trust accounts (including IOLTA) with the State Bar every year.
Attorneys must certify with the State Bar that they understand and comply with responsibilities and prohibitions applicable to the safekeeping of clients’ funds and property.
Attorneys must complete an assessment of their client trust account management practices. This can be done individually or through the firm.
The annual protocols include:
Licensees must follow these protocols. Completing the registration, self-assessment, and certification annually helps keep licensed attorneys in compliance.
This new legal process update ensures attorneys properly navigate their fiduciary relationship with clients. Rule 2.5 is not simply a change in regulations. It is, at its core, an effort to enhance public trust.
As an attorney's job is to provide legal services most ethically, many doing the opposite on such a large scale gave the State Bar no option but to begin reform. The massive and gross mishandling of held client funds represented a fundamental error in how attorneys fulfilled their trust accounting duties.
From a CTAPP overview alone, it is clear that stricter reporting requirements on attorneys secure a level of transparency and accountability from attorneys. With transparency and accountability being the focal points of CTAPP, there is a surefire path towards achieving compliance and, thereby, the intent of ensuring public trust.
Transparency is met through an attorney's open dialogue on account status and conflicts of interest. Accountability comes into play with an attorney's accurate record-keeping, which reduces the probability of accounting errors and prevents misuse of funds. These practices spotlight how closely attorneys are following the CTAPP regulations.
If attorneys achieve CTAPP compliance, they are operating in a manner that follows their ethical obligations and thereby upholds the standards placed on the legal profession and the continued protection of the public.
The CTAPP regulations serve as protection for clients proactively. It is sure that attorneys and law firms are managing trust accounts and safekeeping client property and funds with the appropriate care they are, thereby upholding the trust placed in the legal profession.
With CTAPP, the requirement goal is safeguarding clients' funds properly and maintaining professional conduct. Therefore, CTAPP compliance has become an ethical obligation for attorneys. The aligning repercussions for failure to meet compliance are as concrete as the regulations themselves.
These consequences work to maintain the created public trust over time. When outside of compliance with the Client Trust Account Protection Program rules, The consequences for licensees can range from fines to being placed on inactive status until the previously mentioned steps have been completed. Some of the behaviors that will result and their consequences are:
To avoid penalties, attorneys must remain vigilant on updates regarding the safekeeping of client funds, record-keeping, and reporting.
This establishes the attorney as ethically competent. Attorneys who have maintained transparent practices meet their fiduciary duties without complication and potentially gain more business.
CTAPP addresses the critical responsibilities attorneys have when handling client property. The CTAPP overhaul was set in place to educate attorneys and expand their protection of the public.
This is only possible with a plan of action going forward. Hence, potential future implementations have been announced via the State Bar's website. They are explicitly, and no less than:
More additions to the expansion of the Client Trust Account Protection Program may occur. It will likely be a slow-paced road to allow attorneys to continue ensuring public trust through fiduciary duties and learning the new CTAPP regulations.
If you want to ensure you follow the updated Client Trust Account Protection Program, consider contacting the experienced bookkeepers at SmartBean®!
We are the bean counters that can assist your practice in ensuring public trust when holding client property and funds!
