For more than 40 years, a North Carolina State Bar program has provided that interest earned on lawyers’ trust funds be used to finance grants to provide needed legal services to countless North Carolinians. The program has provided essential funding for legal service entities throughout the state without the use of State funds. Recently, however, the N.C. Legislature has enacted a freeze on IOLTA funds. As a direct result of the cut of needed funding, Legal Aid of North Carolina, has been forced to lay off attorneys and staff and has closed 9 offices in North Carolina.
The Legislature enacted a freeze on IOLTA grantmaking for the period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Historically, grants funded by the IOLTA program have helped ensure that North Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens can obtain needed legal assistance on a pro bono basis. The funds – from lawyer trust accounts and not State coffers – helped ensure that individuals received assistance with matters ranging from veterans’ issues, domestic abuse, and consumer protection.
Concerned citizens should contact their representatives in the N.C. Legislature and urge them to reverse course and allow organizations that are essential to equal access to justice continue their good works in the state. The State Bar’s IOLTA program is one that works – providing for essential access to justice for North Carolinians at no cost to taxpayers.
