Lawyers and paralegals have a special relationship with The Law Foundation of Ontario. We are connected through legal obligations and our shared mandates of improving access to justice.
Legal duty to report and direct mixed trust account
Lawyers and paralegals have a legal obligation to report mixed trust accounts. This helps ensure that The Law Foundation of Ontario receives the interest on these accounts, which it uses to advance access to justice.When opening a mixed trust account, lawyers and paralegals must direct their financial institution to pay the interest to The Law Foundation of Ontario.
Lawyers and paralegals must report on each mixed trust account held at any time during the licensee’s reporting year in their Lawyer Annual Report or the Paralegal Annual Report filing through the Law Society of Ontario Portal.
Established by statute in 1974, The Law Foundation of Ontario is the sole foundation in Ontario with the mandate of increasing access to justice. The Foundation’s main source of revenue is interest received from lawyers’ and paralegals’ mixed trust accounts. This revenue goes to The Law Foundation of Ontario to make grants that advance access to justice and to Legal Aid Ontario. The higher the interest rate a bank provides, the more dollars are available for the Foundation to make grants.
Learn more on our Report a mixed trust account webpage.
Report a mixed trust account
Lawyers and paralegals must report annually on each mixed trust account. It is important to direct the financial institution to forward all interest earned from a mixed trust account to The Law Foundation of Ontario.
Direct a cy-près award
Many courts have approved the Foundation as a fitting and accountable recipient of cy-près awards. The Access to Justice Fund is a permanent fund available to receive such awards.
Class Proceedings Fund
The Class Proceedings Fund provides financial support to approved class action plaintiffs for legal disbursements and indemnifies plaintiffs for costs that may be awarded against them in funded proceedings.
What's new
Nominate an outstanding access to justice champion
The Foundation is seeking nominations for the Guthrie Award, our signature award to recognize access to justice champions.
New web resource for people facing workplace sexual harassment
The Canadian Women’s Foundation and Aftermetoo partnered to develop a comprehensive online public legal education resource for people facing workplace sexual harassment.
Responsive Call for Applications
Call for applications information and application form to apply to the Responsive program
Due date: April 11, 2023
Grant amounts: $10,000 to $250,000