The Client Trust Account Protection Program is already changing lawyer habits

The State Bar appreciates the focus on the Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP), which has been in place since 2022. Beginning in September 2025, the State Bar will implement the compliance review component of CTAPP, as described in California Rule of Court 9.8.5(a)(2)(B). While the State Bar echoes the call to comment on the draft compliance review procedures in "Why attorneys must speak up about the proposed rules for implementing CTAPP," some aspects of the opinion piece require clarification. Our data indicate CTAPP is already greatly impacting how attorneys practice in California by helping them become compliant with their trust account reporting duties and detecting and deterring client trust accounting misconduct per rule 9.8.5. 

Since CTAPP began in 2022, more attorneys are reporting their Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) to the State Bar. The number of unreported IOLTAs decreased from approximately 20,000 accounts in 2023 to 8,202 in 2025. The number of trust account bank overdrafts reported to the State Bar ― all of which must be investigated by the Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) ― dropped from 1,354 in 2022 to 838 in 2024. 

We believe the reduction in both unreported IOLTAs and bank overdrafts on trust accounts is the combined effect of:  

 OCTC's enhanced trust account investigations, 

 CTAPP's educational component on practical trust account recordkeeping, 

 The heightened focus that attorneys are giving to their trust accounts as a result of the enhanced reporting required by CTAPP, and  

 The anticipated rollout of CTAPP's compliance reviews and investigative audits. 

Business and Professions Code section 6091.4 maintains confidentiality, privilege and work product protections for any client information shared during a compliance review and/or investigative audit. The statute also makes clear that State Bar licensees are not violating these protections by providing the information requested. 

The State Bar has also been conducting voluntary compliance reviews for several months, and this experience has informed the scope of the mandatory compliance reviews. 

The Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) will not be offering expert legal opinions. Rather, the compliance reviews will be an Agreed-Upon Procedures engagement, where the CPA does not provide an opinion or assurance as they would in a traditional audit. Instead, the CPA will provide a report of factual findings based solely on the procedures established by the State Bar. They will report the results of these procedures but will not make or provide any opinion about the findings. For example, the accountant will review a sample selection of records to test whether the client was notified within 14 days of the licensee's receipt of funds as required by rule 1.15(d)(1) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. The CPA would then provide the records to the State Bar that indicate whether or not the communication was made within the relevant time frame. The State Bar will then meet with the attorney to discuss the matter before any determination is made by the State Bar. 

One of the primary goals of CTAPP is education. Minor issues will be addressed by explaining the rules of trust account management and recordkeeping and by advocating for the licensee to adopt best practices. Where the licensee appears willing and capable of conforming their trust account management practices to the rules, some significant issues may not warrant a discipline referral to OCTC and will instead result in the issuance of a Mandatory Corrective Action Plan. 

The State Bar is aware of and extremely sensitive to the cost of a compliance review, and concerns that solo practitioners and small firms will be disproportionately impacted. The firms that are first selected for compliance reviews will represent a cross-section of the legal community, and solos and small firm attorneys will be impacted in proportion to the legal community overall. Also, the State Bar is offering to conduct in-house compliance reviews at no cost for solo practitioners or small firms grossing under $150,000. While it is true that costs for other compliance reviews will be the responsibility of the attorneys, the compliance review procedures are limited by the State Bar to keep costs as low as possible. 

We project most compliance reviews will cost between $5,000 and $10,000. Of course, poor recordkeeping, slow response times in turning over requested documents and unclear communications will generally require the CPA to spend more time completing the compliance review, potentially increasing the cost. On the other hand, records that are well-maintained and comply with the rules outlined in the scope of the compliance review procedures published for public comment will likely result in lower costs to attorneys. The State Bar will also provide tools, self-assessments, and practice aids to attorneys and firms so they will know what to expect if selected for a compliance review and can be prepared. 

The proactive CTAPP compliance review program, which is similar to active programs in other states and countries, is one way the State Bar is demonstrating its commitment to protecting the public by preventing misconduct.