Accounting for Attorneys

When a client hands you a retainer check, they’re not just funding future legal services.

They’re placing trust in you.

And that trust isn’t symbolic - it’s financial, ethical, and regulatory.

For attorneys, a properly managed trust account is not just a bookkeeping requirement. It is the bedrock of your professional reputation, your license, and your firm’s long-term stability.

Let’s break down why trust accounting matters, and why having the right financial support behind you is critical.

What Is a Lawyer Trust Account, Really?

When a client hires your firm and provides funds upfront for anticipated legal services, those funds cannot go into your operating account.

They must be deposited into a separate, designated trust account, commonly called:

• IOLTA

• IOLA

• IOTA

• Attorney Trust Account

These are not standard checking or savings accounts. They are special-purpose bank accounts governed by state bar rules and strict regulatory oversight.

You cannot simpl...

Hiring an accounting team isn’t just about clean books. In a law firm, it’s about ethical guardrails, trust accounting compliance, and the kind of internal controls that keep your practice steady, even when things get busy, staff changes happen, or the year-end pressure hits.

Because here’s the truth attorneys already know (even if we don’t always say it out loud): in legal accounting, “small” issues have a way of turning into big ones. And when they do, the consequences don’t land on your bookkeeper’s desk.

They land on your license.

So what does ethical legal accounting actually look like in real life? And what should you expect from an accounting team that understands the legal industry?

Let’s unpack the most common ethical pressure points we see, and the systems that prevent them.

1) Ethical Legal Accounting Starts With Oversight, Not Hope

Many accounting problems don’t come from bad intentions. They come from something far more ordinary:

• A rushed approval

• A missing

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