Changes are coming to the way that lawyers and paralegals report their mixed trust accounts.
Starting in 2016, those that operate a mixed trust account will no longer file a Form 1: Annual Report to The Law Foundation of Ontario, Form 2: Report on Opening a Mixed Trust Account and Form 3: Report on Closing a Mixed Trust Account because it will be incorporated into the Law Society of Upper Canada Lawyer Annual Report (LAR) and the Paralegal Annual Report (PAR). The integration was approved at the Law Society of Upper Canada September Convocation.
Collecting mixed trust account information helps The Law Foundation of Ontario be confident that it receives the interest generated on all lawyers’ and paralegals’ mixed trust accounts. This revenue goes to the Foundation to make grants that advance access to justice and to Legal Aid Ontario. The Law Foundation of Ontario has more than four decades of experience as a strategic and accountable grantmaker, funding projects that aim to help people understand the law and use it to improve their lives.
Incorporating the Form 1 into the LAR and PAR will make it faster and easier for licensees to fulfill their statutory obligations. All lawyers and paralegals (or their designated financial filing licensee) who are responsible for client trust monies held in a mixed trust account at any time during the reporting year must submit details about their mixed trust account when completing their annual reports.
