Matter of Public Law No. 154-1990

In enacting the Attorney Trust Account Act, commonly called "IOLTA," the Indiana General Assembly found that existing legal programs for the poor "do not adequately meet the needs of indigent persons." It also declared that using funds generated by interest-bearing attorney trust accounts to provide legal assistance to the poor "is in the public interest" and "is a proper use of the funds." Ind.Code § 33-20-1-1 (West 1990 Legis. Serv.).

The legislature chose to act on these findings by creating an Indiana Lawyer Trust Account Fund, to which lawyers would transmit the interest collected on…