Wyo. R. Prof. Conduct 1.15

(a) A lawyer shall hold property of clients or third persons that is in a

lawyer’s possession in connection with a representation separate from the

lawyer’s own property. All client or third person funds shall be deposited in an

“IOLTA Account” or “Non-IOLTA Account” (or accounts). Other property shall

be identified as belonging to the appropriate entity and appropriately safe-

guarded.

(1) “IOLTA Account” refers to a trust account, at an “IOLTA-Eligible

Institution” from which funds may be withdrawn upon request as soon as

permitted by law. An IOLTA Account is a pooled interest-bearing account

that shall include only client or third person funds that cannot earn income

for the client or third person in excess of the costs incurred to secure such

income while the funds are held. All other client or third person funds shall

be deposited into a Non-IOLTA Account.

(i) In determining whether client or third person funds should be

deposited in an IOLTA Account or a Non-IOLTA Account, a lawyer shall

consider the following factors:

(A) the amount of interest or dividends the funds would earn during

the period that they are expected to be deposited in light of the amount

of the funds to be deposited; the expected duration of the deposit,

including the likelihood of delay in the matter for which the funds are

held; and the rates of interest or yield at financial institutions where the

funds are to be deposited;

(B) the cost of establishing and administering Non-IOLTA Accounts

for the client or third person’s benefit, including service charges or fees,

the lawyer’s services, preparation of tax reports, or other associated

costs;

(C) the capability of financial institutions or lawyers to calculate and

pay income to individual clients or third persons; and

(D) any other circumstances that affect the ability of the funds to earn

a net return for the client or third person.

(ii) Lawyers may only place their IOLTA Accounts in IOLTA Eligible

Institutions. IOLTA Eligible Institutions are depository institutions which

voluntarily offer IOLTA Accounts and meet the requirements of this Rule.

The Wyoming Foundation for Civil Justice will maintain a list of IOLTA

Eligible Institutions currently holding IOLTA Accounts, and shall provide

the list upon request.

(iii) An IOLTA Eligible Institution shall:

(A) ensure that each IOLTAAccount receives the highest interest rate

that the depository institution pays other customers when the IOLTA

Account meets the same minimum balance or other requirements.

IOLTA Eligible Institutions may elect to pay higher rates than required;

(B) deduct only allowable reasonable fees from IOLTA interest, defined as per check charges, per deposit charges, a fee in lieu of a

minimum balance, federal deposit insurance fees, sweep fees, and a

reasonable IOLTA Account administrative or maintenance fee. All other

fees are the responsibility of, and may be charged to, the lawyer

maintaining the IOLTA Account. Fees or charges in excess of the

interest or dividends earned on the account for any month or quarter

shall not be taken from interest or dividends earned on other IOLTA

Accounts or from the principal of the account. IOLTA Eligible Institutions may elect to waive any or all fees on IOLTA Accounts;

(C) remit, each month, interest or dividends, net of any service

charges or fees, on the average monthly balance in the account, or as

otherwise computed in accordance with the institution’s standard accounting practice for other depositors, to the Wyoming Foundation for

Civil Justice, a tax exempt entity;

(D) transmit with each remittance to the Wyoming Foundation for

Civil Justice, in an electronic format to be specified by the Wyoming

Foundation for Civil Justice, a statement which shall include the

following: (1) the name of the member or the member’s law firm for

whom the remittance is sent, (2) the account number of each account, (3)

the rate of interest applied, (4) the amount of interest or dividends

remitted, (5) the amount and type of charges or fees deducted, if any, and

(6) the average account balance for the period in which the report is

made; and

(E) transmit to the depositing lawyer a report in accordance with

normal procedures for reporting to its depositors.

(iv) All interest transmitted to the Wyoming Foundation for Civil

Justice shall be distributed by the Wyoming Foundation for Civil Justice

for the purposes of providing legal services to the indigent of Wyoming,

who would otherwise be unable to obtain legal assistance; providing public

education projects which promote a knowledge and awareness of the law;

providing projects which improve the administration of justice; or providing for the reasonable costs of administration of interest earned on

accounts under this Rule. Subject to the fulfillment of fund purposes, the

Wyoming Foundation for Civil Justice shall have the sole discretion of

allocation, division, and distribution of funds.

(v) The Wyoming Foundation for Civil Justice shall have authority to

promulgate administrative policies and rules consistent with this Rule,

subject to the approval of the Supreme Court.

(2) “Non-IOLTA Account” refers to a trust account, from which funds may

be withdrawn upon request as soon as permitted by law. Any interest earned

on such an account shall be paid to the client or third person. Such an

account shall be established as:

(i) A separate client trust account for the particular client or matter; or

(ii) A pooled client trust account with subaccounting by the depository

institution or by the lawyer. Such subaccounting shall provide for compu-

tation of net interest or dividend earned by each client or third person’s

funds and the payment thereof to the client or third person.

(3) A lawyer’s good-faith decision regarding the deposit or holding of all

client or third person funds in an IOLTA Account versus a Non-IOLTA

Account is not reviewable by a disciplinary body. A lawyer shall review the

IOLTA Account at reasonable intervals to determine whether changed

circumstances require the funds to be deposited prospectively in a Non-IOLTA Account.

(b) Any trust account shall comply with the following provisions:

(1) The account shall be with a regulated financial institution that is

located or has a branch located in Wyoming, the deposits of which are

insured by an agency of the federal government and which has been

approved by the Wyoming State Bar to serve as a depository for lawyer trust

accounts.

(i) To apply for approval, financial institutions shall file with the

Wyoming State Bar an overdraft notification agreement, in a form

provided by the Wyoming State Bar, to report to the Office of Bar Counsel,

Wyoming State Bar, in the event any properly payable trust account

instrument is presented against insufficient funds or when any other debit

to such account would create a negative balance in the lawyer trust

account, whether or not the instrument or other debit is honored and

irrespective of any overdraft protection or other similar privileges that

may attach to such account. Such agreement shall apply to all branches of

the financial institution and shall not be canceled except on 120 days’

notice in writing to the Wyoming State Bar. Upon notice of cancellation or

termination of the agreement, a financial institution must notify all

holders of trust accounts subject to the provisions of this rule at least 90

days before termination of approved status that the financial institution

will no longer be approved to hold such trust account.

(ii) The Wyoming State Bar, in consultation with the Office of Bar

Counsel, shall establish guidelines regarding the process of approving and

terminating “approved status” for financial institutions, and for other

operational procedures to effectuate this rule. The Wyoming State Bar

shall periodically publish a list of approved financial institutions. No trust

account shall be maintained in any financial institution that has not been

so approved. Approved status under this section does not substitute for

“IOLTA-Eligible Institution” status under Rule 1.15(a)(1).

(iii) The overdraft notification agreement shall further provide that all

reports made by the financial institution shall be in the following format:

(1) in the case of a dishonored instrument, the report shall be identical to

the overdraft notice customarily forwarded to the depositor; (2) in the case

of an instrument that is presented against insufficient funds but which

instrument is honored, the report shall identify the financial institution,

the lawyer or law firm, the account number, the date of presentation for

payment, and the date paid, as well as the amount of the overdraft created

thereby. Such reports shall be made simultaneously with, and within the

time provided by law for, notice of dishonor. If an instrument presented

against insufficient funds is honored, then the report shall be made within

five business days of the date of presentation for payment against

insufficient funds.

(iv) The overdraft notification agreement must provide that a financial

institution is not prohibited from charging the lawyer for the reasonable

cost of providing the reports and records required by this rule, but those

costs may not be charged against principal, nor against interest earned on

trust accounts, including earnings on IOLTA Accounts payable to the

Wyoming Foundation for Civil Justice. Such costs, if charged, shall not be

borne by clients.

(v) Each financial institution must cooperate with the Office of Bar

Counsel and produce any trust account records on receipt of a subpoena in

accordance with any proceeding pursuant to the Rules of Disciplinary

Procedure.

(vi) Every lawyer or law firm maintaining a trust account in accordance

with this Rule shall, as a condition thereof, be conclusively deemed to have

consented to the reporting and production requirements by financial

institutions mandated by this Rule, and shall be deemed to have consented under applicable privacy laws to the reporting of information

required by this Rule.

(vii) A financial institution shall be immune from suit arising out of its

actions or omissions in reporting overdrafts or insufficient funds or

producing documents under this Rule.

(viii) The agreement required by this Rule shall not be deemed to create

a duty to exercise a standard of care and shall not constitute a contract for

the benefit of any third parties that may sustain a loss as a result of

lawyers overdrawing trust accounts.

(2) The account shall include all client or third party funds except those

funds deposited pursuant to the written instructions of the client or third

party in a special interest bearing account with the interest being paid

pursuant to the written instructions of the client or third party.

(3) No interest from the account shall be made available to a lawyer or law

firm.

(4) Trust accounts shall be managed as follows:

(i) Debit cards or automated teller machine cards shall not be used to

withdraw funds from a trust account.

(ii) Client or third party funds received shall be deposited intact and

records of deposit should be sufficiently detailed to identify each item.

(iii) All trust account withdrawals and transfers shall be made only by

a lawyer admitted to practice law in Wyoming or by a person supervised by

such lawyer and may be made only by authorized bank or wire transfer or

by check payable to a named payee.

(iv) Cash withdrawals and checks made payable to “Cash” are prohibited.

(v) A lawyer shall request that the lawyer’s trust account bank return to

the lawyer, photo static or electronic images of canceled checks written on

the trust account. If the bank provides electronic images, the lawyer shall

either maintain paper copies of the electronic images or maintain the

electronic images in readily obtainable format.

(vi) Only a lawyer admitted to practice law in Wyoming or a person

supervised by such lawyer shall be an authorized signatory on a trust

account.

(5) The account must be in the name of the lawyer or the law firm and be

clearly labeled or designated as a “trust account.” The lawyer must be able

to write checks or make disbursements directly from the account.

(c) A lawyer may deposit the lawyer’s own funds in a trust account solely to

satisfy the bank’s minimum deposit requirement or for the purpose of paying

bank service charges on that account, but only in an amount necessary for such

purposes.

(d) A lawyer shall deposit into a client trust account legal fees that have

been paid but not yet earned and expenses that are anticipated but have not

yet been incurred. The lawyer may withdraw such advance payments only as

fees are earned or expenses incurred.

(e) Upon receiving funds or other property in which a client or third person

has an interest, a lawyer shall promptly notify the client or third person.

Except as stated in this Rule or otherwise permitted by law or by agreement

with the client, a lawyer shall promptly deliver to the client or third person any

funds or other property that the client or third person is entitled to receive and,

upon request by the client or third person, shall promptly render a full

accounting regarding such property. Complete records of such accounting shall

be kept by the lawyer and shall be preserved for a period of five years after

termination of the representation.

(f) When in the course of representation a lawyer is in possession of property

in which two or more persons (one of whom may be the lawyer) claim interests,

the property in dispute shall be kept in trust by the lawyer until the dispute is

resolved. The lawyer shall promptly distribute all portions of the property as

to which the interests are not in dispute.

(g) A lawyer shall maintain current trust account records and shall retain

the following records for a period of five years after termination of the

representation.

(1) Receipt and disbursement journals containing a record of deposits to

and withdrawals from client trust accounts, specifically identifying the date,

payor, and description of each item deposited, as well as the date, payee and

purpose of each disbursement;

(2) Ledger records for all trust accounts showing, for each separate client,

the payor of all funds deposited, the names of all persons for whom the funds

are or were held, the amount of such funds, the descriptions and amounts of

charges or withdrawals, and the names of all persons or entities to whom

such funds were disbursed;

(3) At least quarterly a written reconciliation of trust account journals,

ledgers, and bank statements;

(4) The physical or electronic equivalents of all checkbooks registers, bank

statements, records of deposit, and canceled or voided checks;

(5) Records of all electronic transfers from trust accounts, including the

name of the person authorizing the transfer, the date of transfer, the name

of the recipient and confirmation from the financial institution of the trust

account number from which money was withdrawn and the date and the

time the transfer was completed; and

(6) Copies of those portions of client files that are reasonably related to

trust account transactions.

Records required by this Rule may be maintained in electronic, photographic, or other media provided that they otherwise comply with these

Rules and that printed copies can be produced. These records shall be readily

accessible to the lawyer.

(h) A trust account complying with this Rule is required for funds of clients

or third persons coming into a lawyer’s possession in the course of legal

representation for which membership in the Wyoming State Bar is required.

Members of the Wyoming State Bar who, because of the nature of their

practice, do not, in the course of providing legal representation requiring

membership in the Wyoming State Bar, receive funds of clients or third

persons need not maintain a trust account in compliance with this Rule.

(i) Each active member of the Wyoming State Bar who practices within the

state shall certify each year upon making payment of annual license fees that

the member has and intends to keep in force in the State of Wyoming a

separate bank account or accounts for the purpose of keeping money in trust

for clients or third persons, which account conforms to the requirements of this

Rule, or that because of the nature of the member’s practice no client or third

person funds are received. Certification shall be upon a form to be provided by

the Wyoming State Bar and shall include the following: (1) the name and

address of the lawyer or law firm filing the certification; (2) the name and

address of each financial institution in which the account or accounts are

maintained; (3) the account number of each account maintained pursuant to

this Rule; (4) the dates covered by the certification; (5) the lawyer’s express

consent to the overdraft notification required by subsection (b)(1) of this Rule;

and (6) the signature, under penalty of perjury, of the lawyer making the

certification.

(j) If the owner of property being held in trust by a member of the Wyoming

State Bar cannot be located after reasonable efforts, such property shall be

remitted to the Client Protection Fund of the Wyoming State Bar.

(k) Upon dissolution of a law firm or of any legal professional corporation,

the partners shall make reasonable arrangements for the maintenance of

client trust account records specified in this Rule.

(l) Upon the sale of a law practice, the seller shall make reasonable

arrangements for the maintenance of records specified in this Rule.