IOLTA
Information Services

IOLTA is a leadership platform for making "Equal Justice For All" a reality everywhere in America.

IOLTA (interest on lawyer trust account) programs appeared in Canada in the 1970s and spread throughout the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. Today there is an IOLTA program in place in every province and state in North America.

IOLTA programs provide a state focus. In most states and provinces, IOLTA programs are overseen by the leadership of the legal community and operated on a day-to-day basis by trained legal and management professionals. They provide funding, oversight and technical support to community-based organizations that provide:

• Civil legal assistance to low income people
• Support for improvements in the system of justice
• Support for other public interest programs in the justice system such as legal education, policy advocacy and research.

Leadership for equal justice. In the 1990s many IOLTA programs provided critical leadership in transforming legal assistance for the poor from a federally-focused confederation of independent organizations to state-focused, integrated delivery systems. Today they are playing a broad range of leadership and support roles for strategic planning efforts within their states to raise the money and build the capacity needed to provide full access to justice to our most needy and vulnerable citizens.

1. Resources For IOLTA Programs
2. How IOLTA Works
3. IOLTA is a Leadership Platform for 100% Access