Rule 219. Annual registration of attorneys.
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(d) On or before July 1 of each year, all attorneys required by this rule to pay
an annual fee shall file with the Attorney Registration Office a signed or electronically
endorsed form prescribed by the Attorney Registration Office in accordance with the
following procedures:
(1) The form shall set forth:
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(iii) The name of each Financial Institution, as defined in
Pa.R.P.C. 1.15(a)(4), within or outside this Commonwealth in which the
attorney [on May 1 of the current year or at any time during the
preceding 12 months], from May 1 of the previous year to the date of
the filing of the annual fee form, held funds of a client or a third person
subject to Rule 1.15 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct.
The form shall include the name and account number for each account in
which the attorney held such funds, and each IOLTA Account shall be
identified as such. The form provided to a person holding a Limited In-
House Corporate Counsel License or a Foreign Legal Consultant License
need not request the information required by this subparagraph.
For purposes of this subparagraph, the phrase “funds of a client or a
third person subject to Rule 1.15 of the Pennsylvania Rules of
Professional Conduct” means funds that belong to a client or third
person and that an attorney receives:
(A) in connection with a client-lawyer relationship;
(B) as an escrow agent, settlement agent, representative
payee, personal representative, guardian, conservator, receiver,
trustee, agent under a durable power of attorney, or other similar
fiduciary position;
(C) as an agent, having been designated as such by a client
or having been so selected as a result of a client-lawyer relationship
or the lawyer’s status as such;
(D) in connection with nonlegal services that are not
distinct from legal services;
(E) in connection with nonlegal services that are distinct
from legal services, and the attorney knows or reasonably should
know that the recipient of the service might believe that the recipient
is receiving the protection of a client-lawyer relationship; or
(F) as an owner, controlling party, employee, agent, or as
one who is otherwise affiliated with an entity providing nonlegal
services and the attorney knows or reasonably should know that the
recipient of the service might believe that the recipient is receiving
the protection of a client-lawyer relationship.
Note: For purposes of subparagraph (iii), “funds of a
third person” shall not include funds held in: 1) an
attorney’s personal account held jointly; or 2) a custodial
account for a minor or dependent relative unless the
source of any account funds is other than the attorney
and his or her spouse.
If an attorney employed by a law firm receives fiduciary funds
from or on behalf of a client and deposits or causes the funds
to be deposited into a law firm account, the attorney must
report the account of deposit under this subparagraph (iii).
(iv) Every account not reported under subparagraph (iii), that
held funds of a client or a third [party] person, and over which the
attorney had sole or shared signature authority or authorization to
transfer funds to or from the account, during the same time period
specified in subparagraph (iii). For each account, the attorney shall
provide the name of the financial institution (whether or not the entity
qualifies as a “Financial Institution” under Pa.R.P.C. 1.15(a)(4)), location,
and account number.
Note: Regarding “funds of a third person,” see Note to
Rule 219(d)(1)(iii).
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(3) Every attorney who has filed the form or elects to file the form
electronically shall notify the Attorney Registration Office in writing of any
change in the information previously submitted, including e-mail address, within
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30 days after such change, which notice shall be sent by mail or facsimile
transmission, provided, however, that any change in the information
required by subsections (d)(1)(iii), (iv) and (v) (collectively relating to
financial account information) that occurs after the filing of the form
required by subdivisions (a) and (d)(1) of this rule need only be reported on
the next regular annual fee form due July 1. Failure to timely register and
file the next annual fee form shall not excuse this subsection’s requirement
of reporting changes in financial account information on an annual basis
on or before July 1, and failure to make such a report shall constitute a
violation of this rule.
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