ELC 15.7.
             TRUST ACCOUNTS AND THE LEGAL FOUNDATION OF WASHINGTON


  (a) Legal Foundation of Washington.  The Legal Foundation of Washington
(Legal Foundation) was established by Order of the Supreme Court of Washington
to administer distribution of Interest on Lawyer's Trust Account (IOLTA) funds
to civil legal aid programs.

  (1) Administrative Responsibilities. The Legal Foundation is responsible for
assessing the products and services offered by financial institutions operating
in the state of Washington and determining whether such institutions meet the
requirements of  this rule, ELC 15.4, and ELPOC 15.4.  The Legal Foundation
must maintain a list of financial institutions authorized to establish client
trust accounts and publish the list on a website maintained by the Legal
Foundation for public information. The Legal Foundation must provide a copy of
the list to any person upon request.

  (2) Annual Report. The Legal Foundation must prepare an annual report to the
Supreme Court of Washington that summarizes the Foundation's income, grants and
operating expenses, implementation of its corporate purposes, and any problems
arising in the administration of the IOLTA program.

  (b) Definitions.  The following definitions apply to this rule:

  (1) United States Government Securities.  United States Government
Securities are defined as direct obligations of the United States Government,
or obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United
States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, including United States
Government-Sponsored Enterprises.

  (2) Daily Financial Institution Repurchase Agreement.  A daily financial
institution repurchase agreement must be fully collateralized by United States
Government Securities and may be established only with an authorized financial
institution that is deemed to be "well capitalized" under applicable
regulations of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National
Credit Union Association.

  (3) Money Market Funds.  A money market fund is an investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that is
regulated as a money market funder under Rules and Regulations adopted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to said Act, and at the time of the
investment, has total assets of at least five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000).  A money market fund must be comprised solely of United States
Government Securities or investments fully collateralized by United States
Government Securities.

  (c) Authorized Financial Institutions.  Any bank, savings bank, credit
union, savings and loan association, or other financial institution that meets
the following criteria is eligible to become an authorized financial
institution under this rule:

  (1) is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the
National Credit Union Administration;

  (2) is authorized by law to do business in Washington;

  (3) complies with all requirements set forth in section (d) of this rule and
in ELC 15.4; and

  (4) if offering IOLTA accounts, complies with all requirements set forth in
section (e) of this rule.

  The Legal Foundation determines whether a financial institution is an
authorized financial institution under this section.  Upon a determination of
compliance with all requirements of this rule and ELC 15.4, the Legal
Foundation must list a financial institution as an authorized financial
institution under section (a)(1).  At any time, the Legal Foundation may
request that a listed financial institution establish or certify compliance
with the requirements of this rule or ELC 15.4. The Legal Foundation may remove
a financial institution from the list of authorized financial institutions upon
a determination that the financial institution is not in compliance.

  (d) Requirements of All Trust Accounts.  All trust accounts established
pursuant to RPC 1.15A(i) or LPORPC 1.12A(h) must be insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Administration up to
the limit established by law for those types of accounts or be backed by
United States Government Securities.  Trust account funds must not be
placed in stocks, bonds, mutual funds that invest in stock or bonds, or similar
uninsured investments.

  (e)  IOLTA Accounts.  To qualify for Legal Foundation approval as an
authorized financial institution offering IOLTA accounts, in addition to
meeting all other requirements set forth in this Rule, a financial institution
must comply with the requirements set forth in this section.

    (1) Interest Comparability. For accounts established pursuant to RPC
1.15A, authorized financial institutions must pay the highest interest rate
generally available from the institutions to its non-IOLTA account customers
when IOLTA accounts meet or exceed the same minimum balance or other account
eligibility qualifications, if any.  In determining the highest interest rate
generally available to its non-IOLTA customers, authorized financial
institutions may consider factors, in addition to the IOLTA account balance,
customarily considered by the institution when setting interest rates for its
customers, provided that such factors do not discriminate between IOLTA
accounts and accounts of non-IOLTA customers and that these factors do not
include that the account is an IOLTA account.  An authorized financial
institution may satisfy these comparability requirements by selecting one of
the following options:

  (i) Establish the IOLTA account as the comparable interest-paying product; or

  (ii) Pay the comparable interest rate on the IOLTA checking account in lieu
of actually establishing the comparable interest-paying product; or

  (iii) Pay a rate on IOLTA equal to 75% of the Federal Funds Targeted Rate as
of the first business day of the month or IOLTA remitting period, or .75%,
whichever is higher, and which rate is deemed to be already net of allowable
reasonable service charges or fees.

  (2) Remit Interest to Legal Foundation of Washington. Authorized financial
institutions must remit the interest accruing on all IOLTA accounts, net
of reasonable account fees, to the Legal Foundation monthly, on a report form
prescribed by the Legal Foundation.  At a minimum, the report must show details
about the account, including but not limited to the name of the lawyer,  law
firm, LPO, or Closing Firm for whom the remittance is sent, the rate of
interest applied, the amount of service charges deducted, if any, and the
balance used to compute the interest.  Interest must be calculated on the
average monthly balance in the account, or as otherwise computed in accordance
with applicable state and federal regulations and the institution's standard
accounting practice for non-IOLTA customers. The financial institution must
notify each lawyer, law firm, LPO, or Closing Firm of the amount of interest
remitted to the Legal Foundation on a monthly basis on the account statement or
other written report.

    (3) Reasonable account fees.  Reasonable account fees may only include per
deposit charges, per check charges, a fee in lieu of minimum balances, sweep
fees, FDIC insurance fees, and a reasonable IOLTA account administration fee.
No service charges or fees other than the allowable, reasonable fees may be
assessed against the interest or dividends on an IOLTA account.  Any service
charges or fees other than allowable reasonable fees must be the sole
responsibility of, and may be charged to, the lawyer, law firm, LPO, or Closing
Firm maintaining the IOLTA account. Fees or charges in excess of the interest
or dividends earned on the account must not be deducted from interest or
dividends earned on any other account or from the principal.

    (4) Comparable Accounts.  Subject to the requirements set forth in
sections (d) and (e), an IOLTA account may be established as:

  (i) A business checking account with an automated investment feature, such
as a daily bank repurchase agreement or a money market fund; or

  (ii)  A checking account paying preferred interest rates, such as a money
market or indexed rates; or

  (iii)  A government interest-bearing checking account such as an account
used for municipal deposits; or

  (iv) An interest-bearing checking account such as a negotiable order of
withdrawal (NOW) account, business checking account with interest; or

  (v) Any other suitable interest-bearing product offered by the authorized
financial institution to its non-IOLTA customers.

  (5) Nothing in this rule precludes an authorized financial institution from
paying an interest rate higher than described above or electing to waive any
service charges or fees on IOLTA accounts.