PAST ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL BOARDS IOLTA'S LAST OBSTACLE: WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUND V. MASSACHUSETTS
BAR FOUND'S FAULTY ANALYSIS OF ATTORNEYS' FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS
Risa I. Sackmary
2 J.L. & Pol'y 187 (1994)
Interest On Lawyer's Trust Accounts ("IOLTA") programs seek to provide funding to public service organizations through channeling of interest from attorneys' client trust accounts. Before the implementation of IOLTA programs, the interest on clients' money, which was either nominal or held for a short period of time by an attorney, would be left with the bank. Primarily IOLTA funds are used to provide legal services to indigents.

This Note argues that programs such as these are a violation of the First Amendment rights of attorneys. By mandating that attorneys donate monies to groups or organizations that they may ideologically disagree with, the state is in-effect compelling attorneys to speak or support views contrary to their own. Moreover, this Note argues that the Supreme Court has spoken on analogous issues finding similar speech unconstitutional.