Trust accounting rules
As legal professionals, we need to comply with the trust accounting rules. Here’s our view on what you’ll need to consider for your practice when developing legal solutions.
This information is given for your convenience only, and you’ll need to make sure you comply with the trust accounting rules for your jurisdiction.
The two essential questions to consider are:
First, is the legal solution your law practice is offering a product or a service?
Second, when would your law practice charge the costs to your client?
A legal solution that doesn’t have any legal advice built within it and is available without any legal advice or services along with it is a legal product. It is our opinion that the income from legal products is not trust money.
It is our view that a legal solution that has legal advice built within it or that is sold with legal advice or a legal service to go with it is a legal service. It is clear that the income from legal services can be trust money. If your legal solution is a legal service, you’ll need to consider when your law practice charges the costs to your client.
All of the documents and tools available from Support Legal do not include legal advice.
Offering Legal Products to Your Clients
If you don’t add legal advice when you Rebrand Our Documents and Tools for Your Legal Solution, then you’ll be offering legal products.
Offering Legal Services to Your Clients
If you add legal advice when you Rebrand Our Documents and Tools for Your Legal Solution, then you’ll need to comply with trust accounting requirements.
You’ll also need to comply with normal client engagement requirements.
Now that you know how it can be done, it’s time to create your innovative legal solutions!
See also our Resources page.
