CLE Required in 2017 to Satisfy New Trust Account Check Signature Requirement

The Supreme Court recently approved an amendment to trust accounting Rule 1.15-2 that requires checks drawn on a trust account to be signed by a lawyer or by an employee who is not responsible for performing monthly or quarterly reconciliations. 

Any lawyer or supervised employee with check signing authority must take a one-hour trust account management CLE course approved by the State Bar for this purpose. To allow CLE providers time to develop and obtain approval for appropriate courses and to allow a reasonable time for all law firms to come into compliance, the CLE requirement may be satisfied in 2017; however, compliance with the other signature requirements for trust account checks should be prompt. Completion of a one-hour trust accounting CLE course taught by the State Bar’s Trust Account Compliance Counsel after January 1, 2015, satisfies the requirement. 

Using our course search feature, you can locate applicable programs by choosing the trust accounting drop-down box.