IOLA Fund of the State of New York

In 1983, with the strong support of the New York State Bar Association, the legislature created the New York State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund (IOLA) as a means to provide additional financial support to civil legal service organizations that had been decimated by federal budget cuts. The program requires attorneys to deposit funds received from clients either in interest bearing accounts for the benefit of the clients or in interest bearing IOLA accounts, in accordance with the provision of the statute (State Finance Law §497). The interest on IOLA accounts is pooled and provides the money for grants made by the Board of Trustees of the IOLA Fund to non-profit civil legal services providers across the state.