Good causes could benefit from law firms’ unclaimed client funds

Howard Lake | 17 February 2009 | News

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Law firms in England & Wales could be putting thousands of pounds of unclaimed client money to a good cause by donating to charity, says the Law Society Charity.
The Law Society Charity is calling on solicitors to not let unclaimed funds gather dust but to donate them to the Charity instead.
The Charity has provided essential financial support to a number of initiatives, including being a major supporter of LawCare, the International Lawyers for Africa programme and the NSPCC to name a few. Donations of unclaimed client funds will allow the charity to continue its support for these and many other good causes.
Law Society Charity Chairman Nigel Dodds says:
“As many law firms tighten their belts in the current downturn, the philanthropic endeavours of the profession risk a decline. Donating unclaimed client funds allows firms who want to continue to donate to charity to carry on doing so. The money cannot be used for anything else.
“The Law Society Charity acts as a catalyst for solicitors to give something back to the profession and provides for worthy causes both at home and abroad. We have donated to a broad range of causes aimed at supporting the legal sector and those seeking access to justice. We could do more, so rather than have unclaimed money collecting dust in a client account, it could be helping the Charity provide much needed funds for a number of initiatives.”
Solicitors are only permitted to dispose of unclaimed client funds to charity and the Law Society Charity is urging the profession to follow in the footsteps of other firms and put the money to good use.
Following successful lobbying by the Law Society the Solicitors Regulation Authority approved an amendment to the Solicitors Account Rules last year, allowing balances of £50 or less of unclaimed funds per client to be released to charity without SRA approval.
Where the donation amounts to over £50 of a client’s unclaimed funds, the Law Society Charity will provide an indemnity for that amount subject to the donor firm having prior SRA approval to make the donation.
Once all efforts to reimburse the client with the funds have been exhausted solicitors can donate them to charity. Where funds have been donated to the Law Society Charity and a client subsequently request the funds the Charity will reimburse the firm in respect of the monies claimed.
Ends
To find out more about the work of Law Society Charity and how to contribute, visit
www.lawsociety.org.uk/charity
Journalists can contact the Law Society Press Office on 020 7320 5764.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.