Arkansas Supreme Court Approves Merger of IOLTA, Access to Justice Foundations

The Arkansas Supreme Court has approved the merger of the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation and Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation effective January 1, 2014, according to an opinion handed down today.  The surviving entity will be called the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation and will continue the functions related to collection of interest earned on lawyer’s trust accounts as the “IOLTA Program” of the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation.

The Arkansas IOLTA Foundation, which was incorporated in 1985, was established for the purpose of receiving interest earned on lawyer’s trust accounts and using the revenues generated to make grants to provide funds for legal services to the poor, projects that improve the administration of justice, and legal education. The Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation was incorporated in September 2009 to promote and support access to the civil justice system by Arkansans who cannot afford an attorney, primarily by generating financial support for statewide efforts to increase access to justice.

“This is a very positive development that we believe will allow the Arkansas access to justice community to maximize the impact of our collective efforts to fulfill the Constitution’s promise of equal justice under the law,” said Amy Johnson, who serves as Executive Director of each organization.

In 2013, the boards of the IOLTA Foundation and AATJF—recognizing the need to diversify the funding sources of their respective organizations, maximize resources to support grantee organizations, and leverage statewide support for their closely aligned missions—voted to merge the two organizations.  They filed a petition requesting the merger in April.

The order approving the merger adopts conforming amendments to Arkansas Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 and section 28 of the Arkansas Procedures Governing Professional Conduct.  These amendments simply substitute “Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation” for “Arkansas IOLTA Foundation,” where appropriate. According to Johnson, the merger will not otherwise affect IOLTA accounts, so no action on the part of attorneys or banks that participate in the IOLTA Program will be necessary.  The surviving foundation will retain the IOLTA Foundation’s Tax ID number.