Client Money: Trust Account Management for Australian Lawyers

A detailed and comprehensive text on the law and professional standards relating to the role of lawyers in handling money held for a client, dealing principally with lawyers’ trust account management.

It covers all Australian jurisdictions and includes plentiful accounting examples. It is suitable both as a practitioner reference and for student and PLT use.

This valuable text provides comprehensive and detailed guidance on the law and professional standards and ethics governing the role of lawyers in handling money held for a client, with a particular focus on lawyers’ trust account management. It covers all Australian jurisdictions, and includes the Legal Profession Uniform Law now in force in New South Wales and Victoria.

As the security of trust money rests significantly on how lawyers account for trust account transactions, the accounting required by law is explained and examples are given to illustrate how accounts are to be kept. The more general legal responsibilities relating to handling of others’ money are also discussed, including those arising in contract, tort and under fiduciary and trustees’ duties. The author also addresses the statutory powers that underpin civil remedies such as the ordering of accounts and appointment of receivers.

The scope and depth of coverage of this work make it essential reading for legal practitioners, students and graduates undertaking practical legal training.

Features:-

• Comprehensive coverage Australia-wide of trust account requirements
• Identifies the underlying ethical responsibility of practitioners in managing client funds
• Ensures appropriate awareness of the consequences of breach
• Includes plentiful accounting examples
• Clear, accessible explanations