RULE 1.15A
                             SAFEGUARDING PROPERTY


    (a)  This Rule applies to (1) property of clients or third persons in a
lawyer's possession in connection with a representation and (2) escrow and
other funds held by a lawyer incident to the closing of any real estate or
personal property transaction.  Additionally, for all transactions in which a
lawyer has selected, prepared, or completed legal documents for use in the
closing of any real estate or personal property transaction, the lawyer must
ensure that all funds received or held by the Closing Firm incidental to the
closing of the transaction, including advances for costs and expenses, are held
and maintained as set forth in this rule or LPORPC 1.12A.  The lawyer's duty to
ensure that all funds received or held by the Closing Firm incidental to the
closing of the transaction are held and maintained as set forth in this rule or
LPORPC 1.12A shall not apply to a lawyer when that lawyer's participation in
the matter is incidental to the closing and (i) the lawyer or lawyer's law firm
has a preexisting client-lawyer relationship with a buyer or seller in the
transaction, and (ii) neither the lawyer nor the lawyer's law firm has an
existing client-lawyer relationship with the Closing Firm or an LPO
participating in the closing.

    (b) A lawyer must not use, convert, borrow or pledge client or third person
property for the lawyer's own use.

    (c) A lawyer must hold property of clients and third persons separate from
the lawyer's own property.

    (1) A lawyer must deposit and hold in a trust account funds subject to this
Rule pursuant to paragraph (h) of this Rule.

    (2) Except as provided in Rule 1.5(f), and subject to the requirements of
paragraph (h) of this Rule, a lawyer shall deposit into a trust account legal
fees and expenses that have been paid in advance, to be withdrawn by the lawyer
only as fees are earned or expenses incurred.

    (3) A lawyer must identify, label and appropriately safeguard any property of
clients or third persons other than funds. The lawyer must keep records of such
property that identify the property, the client or third person, the date of
receipt and the location of safekeeping. The lawyer must preserve the records
for seven years after return of the property.

    (d)  A lawyer must promptly notify a client or third person of receipt of
the client or third person's property.

    (e)  A lawyer must promptly provide a written accounting to a client or third
person after distribution of property or upon request. A lawyer must provide at
least annually a written accounting to a client or third person for whom the
lawyer is holding funds.

    (f)  Except as stated in this Rule, a lawyer must promptly pay or deliver to the
client or third person the property which the client or third person is entitled to receive.

    (g)  If a lawyer possesses property in which two or more persons (one of
which may be the lawyer) claim interests, the lawyer must maintain the property
in trust until the dispute is resolved. The lawyer must promptly distribute all
undisputed portions of the property. The lawyer must take reasonable action to
resolve the dispute, including, when appropriate, interpleading the disputed funds.

    (h)  A lawyer must comply with the following for all trust accounts:

    (1) No funds belonging to the lawyer may be deposited or retained in a
trust account except as follows:

    (i)   funds to pay bank charges, but only in an amount reasonably sufficient for that purpose;

    (ii)  funds belonging in part to a client or third person and in part presently
or potentially to the lawyer must be deposited and retained in a trust account, but any
portion belonging to the lawyer must be withdrawn at the earliest reasonable time; or

    (iii) funds necessary to restore appropriate balances.

    (2) A lawyer must keep complete records as required by Rule 1.15B.

    (3) A lawyer may withdraw funds when necessary to pay client costs. The
lawyer may withdraw earned fees only after giving reasonable notice to the
client of the intent to do so, through a billing statement or other document.

    (4) Receipts must be deposited intact.

    (5) All withdrawals must be made only to a named payee and not to cash.
Withdrawals must be made by check or by bank transfer.

    (6) Trust account records must be reconciled as often as bank statements
are generated or at least quarterly. The lawyer must reconcile the check
register balance to the bank statement balance and reconcile the check register
balance to the combined total of all client ledger records required  by Rule 1.15B(a)(2).

    (7) A lawyer must not disburse funds from a trust account until deposits
have cleared the banking process and been collected, unless the lawyer and
the bank have a written agreement by which the lawyer personally guarantees
all deposits to the account without recourse to the trust account.

    (8) Disbursements on behalf of a client or third person may not exceed the
funds of that person on deposit. The funds of a client or third person must
not be used on behalf of anyone else.

    (9) Only a lawyer admitted to practice law may be an authorized signatory
on the account.

    (i) Trust accounts must be interest-bearing and allow withdrawals or transfers
without any delay other than notice periods that are required by law or
regulation and meet the requirements of ELC 15.7(d) and ELC 15.7(e).  In the
exercise of ordinary prudence, a lawyer may select any financial institution
authorized by the Legal Foundation of Washington (Legal Foundation) under ELC
15.7(c).  In selecting the type of trust account for the purpose of depositing
and holding funds subject to this Rule, a lawyer shall apply the following criteria:

    (1) When client or third-person funds will not produce a positive net
return to the client or third person because the funds are nominal in amount
or expected to be held for a short period of time the funds must be placed
in a pooled interest-bearing trust account known as an Interest on Lawyer's
Trust Account or IOLTA. The interest earned on IOLTA accounts shall be paid
to, and the IOLTA program shall be administered by, the Legal Foundation of
Washington in accordance with ELC 15.4 and ELC 15.7(e).

    (2) Client or third-person funds that will produce a positive net return
to the client or third person must be placed in one of the following two
types of non-IOLTA trust accounts unless the client or third person requests
that the funds be deposited in an IOLTA account:

    (i) a separate interest-bearing trust account for the particular client
or third person with earned interest paid to the client or third person; or

    (ii) a pooled interest-bearing trust account with sub-accounting that
allows for computation of interest earned by each client or third person's
funds with the interest paid to the appropriate client or third person.

    (3) In determining whether to use the account specified in paragraph
(i)(1) or an account specified in paragraph (i)(2), a lawyer must consider
only whether the funds will produce a positive net return to the client or
third person, as determined by the following factors:

    (i) the amount of interest the funds would earn based on the current
rate of interest and the expected period of deposit;

    (ii) the cost of establishing and administering the account, including
the cost of the lawyer's services and the cost of preparing any tax
reports required for interest accruing to a client or third person's benefit; and

    (iii) the capability of financial institutions to calculate and pay interest
to individual clients or third persons if the account in paragraph (i)(2)(ii) is used.

     The provisions of paragraph (i) do not relieve a lawyer or law firm from
any obligation imposed by these Rules.


                              Washington Comments

    [1] A lawyer must also comply with the recordkeeping rule for trust
accounts, Rule 1.15B.

    [2] Client funds include, but are not limited to, the following: legal fees
and costs that have been paid in advance other than retainers and flat fees
complying with the requirements of Rule 1.5(f), funds received on behalf of a
client, funds to be paid by a client to a third party through the lawyer, other
funds subject to attorney and other liens, and payments received in excess of
amounts billed for fees.

    [3] This Rule applies to property held in any fiduciary capacity in
connection with a representation, whether as trustee, agent, escrow agent,
guardian, personal representative, executor, or otherwise.

    [4] The inclusion of ethical obligations to third persons in the handling of
trust funds and property is not intended to expand or otherwise affect existing
law regarding a Washington lawyer's liability to third parties other than
clients. See, e.g., Trask v. Butler, 123 Wn.2d 835, 872 P.2d 1080 (1994);
Hetzel v. Parks, 93 Wn. App. 929, 971 P.2d 115 (1999).

    [5] Property covered by this Rule includes original documents affecting
legal rights such as wills or deeds.

    [6] A lawyer has a duty to take reasonable steps to locate a client or third
person for whom the lawyer is holding funds or property. If after taking
reasonable steps, the lawyer is still unable to locate the client or third
person, the lawyer should treat the funds as unclaimed property under the
Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, RCW 63.29.

    [7] A lawyer may not use as a trust account an account in which funds are
periodically transferred by the financial institution between a trust account
and an uninsured account or other account that would not qualify as a trust
account under this Rule or ELC 15.7.

    [8] If a lawyer accepts payment of an advanced fee deposit by credit card,
the payment must be deposited directly into the trust account. It cannot be
deposited into a general account and then transferred to the trust
account. Similarly, credit card payments of earned fees, of retainers meeting
the requirements of Rule 1.5(f)(1), and of flat fees meeting the requirements
of Rule 1.5(f)(2) cannot be deposited into the trust account and then
transferred to another account.

   [9] Under paragraph (g), the extent of the efforts that a lawyer is
obligated to take to resolve a dispute depend on the amount in dispute, the
availability of methods for alternative dispute resolution, and the likelihood
of informal resolution.

    [10] The requirement in paragraph (h)(4) that receipts must be deposited
intact means that a lawyer cannot deposit one check or negotiable instrument
into two or more accounts at the same time, commonly known as a split deposit.

    [11] Paragraph (h)(7) permits Washington lawyers to enter into written
agreements with the trust account financial institution to provide for
disbursement of trust deposits prior to formal notice of dishonor or
collection. In essence the trust account bank is agreeing to or has guaranteed
a loan to the lawyer and the client for the amount of the trust deposit pending
collection of that deposit from the institution upon which the instrument was
written. A Washington lawyer may only enter into such an arrangement if 1)
there is a formal written agreement between the attorney and the trust account
institution, and 2) the trust account financial institution provides the lawyer
with written assurance that in the event of dishonor of the deposited
instrument or other difficulty in collecting the deposited funds, the financial
institution will not have recourse to the trust account to obtain the funds to
reimburse the financial institution. A lawyer must never use one client's money
to pay for withdrawals from the trust account on behalf of another client who
is paid subject to the lawyer's guarantee. The trust account financial
institution must agree that the institution will not seek to fund the
guaranteed withdrawal from the trust account, but will instead look to the
lawyer for payment of uncollectible funds. Any such agreement must ensure that
the trust account funds or deposits of any other client's or third person's
money into the trust account would not be affected by the guarantee.

    [12] The Legal Foundation of Washington was established by Order of the
Supreme Court of Washington.

    [13] A lawyer may, but is not required to, notify the client of the intended
use of funds paid to the Foundation.

    [14] If the client or third person requests that funds that would be
deposited in a non-IOLTA trust account under paragraph (i)(2) instead be held
in the IOLTA account, the lawyer should document this request in the lawyer's
trust account records and preferably should confirm the request in writing to
the client or third person.

    [15] A lawyer may not receive from financial institutions earnings credits
or any other benefit from the financial institution based on the balance
maintained in a trust account.

    [16] The term "Closing Firm" as used in this rule has the same definition as
in ELPOC 1.3(g).

    [17] The lawyer may satisfy the requirement of paragraph (a), that the
lawyer must ensure that all funds received or held by the Closing Firm
incidental to the closing of the transaction including advances for costs and
expenses, are held and maintained as set forth in this rule or LPORPC 1.12A, by
obtaining a certification or other reasonable assurance from the Closing Firm
that the funds are being held in accordance with RPC 1.15A and/or LPORPC 1.12A.
The lawyer is not required to personally inspect the books and records of the
Closing Firm.

    The last sentence of Paragraph (a) is intended to relieve a lawyer from
the duties of paragraph (a) only if the lawyer or the lawyer's law firm has a
previous client-lawyer relationship with one of the parties to the transaction
and that party is a buyer or seller.  Lawyers may be called on by clients to
review deeds prepared during the escrow process, or may be asked to prepare
special deeds such as personal representative's deeds for use in the closing.
A lawyer may also be asked by a client to review documents such as settlement
statements or tax affidavits that have been prepared for the closing.  Such
activities are limited in scope and are only incidental to the closing.  The
exception stated in the last sentence of paragraph (a) does not apply if the
lawyer or the lawyer's law firm has an existing client-lawyer relationship with
the Closing Firm or with a limited practice officer who is participating in the closing.

    [18] When selecting a financial institution for purposes of depositing and
holding funds in a trust account, a lawyer is obligated to exercise ordinary
prudence under paragraph (i). All trust accounts 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. See ELC 15.7(d).

    [19] Only those financial institutions authorized by the Legal Foundation
of Washington (Legal Foundation) are eligible to offer trust accounts to
Washington lawyers. To become authorized, the financial institution must
satisfy the Legal Foundation that it qualifies as an authorized financial
institution under ELC 15.7(c) and must have on file with the Legal Foundation a
current Overdraft Notification Agreement under ELC 15.4. A list of all
authorized financial institutions is maintained and published by the Legal
Foundation and is available to any person on request.

    [20]  Upon receipt of a notification of  a trust account overdraft, a
lawyer must comply with the duties set forth in ELC 15.4(d) (lawyer must
promptly notify the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Washington State Bar
Association and include a full explanation of the cause of the overdraft).

    [21]  A unilateral deposit of funds belonging in part to a client or third
party into a lawyer's non-trust account does not constitute a violation of
paragraph (c) of this Rule if the lawyer promptly identifies the portion of the
funds belonging to the client or third party, deposits those funds into a trust
account, and notifies the client or third party of the deposit.  A unilateral
deposit of funds belonging in part to a lawyer into a trust account does not
constitute a violation of paragraph (h) of this Rule if the lawyer promptly
identifies the lawyer-owned funds and withdraws them from the trust account.
For purposes of this provision, a unilateral deposit refers to funds deposited
directly by a client or third party by means of electronic funds transfer where
the lawyer has not directed, invited, or encouraged a deposit that would
constitute a violation of this Rule and has taken reasonable precautions to
prevent such a deposit.


[Amended effective September 1, 2006. amended effective November 18, 2008;
January 1, 2009; December 1, 2009; September 1, 2011; September 1, 2012]