# Lawyers Trust Account Board *Minnesota agency created by Minnesota Supreme Court order in 1982; known since July 1, 2025 as the State Board of Civil Legal Aid* The **Lawyers Trust Account Board** is a [[Minnesota]] body created by order of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] dated December 27, 1982.[^1] The validated record names it the Lawyer Trust Account Board. The creating order produced what the record calls the nation's first mandatory [[IOLTA]] program adopted by court rule, dated 1983.[^1] Since July 1, 2025 the Board has been the State Board of Civil Legal Aid.[^1] The Board administers Minnesota's civil-legal-aid apparatus.[^1] The record gives about $36.4 million administered in fiscal year 2025. It counts 47,708 households and 114,593 people reached across all 87 counties in 2023, and an audited return of $4.32 per dollar.[^2] Most of the Board's funding is legislative appropriation rather than IOLTA interest.[^3] ## History The Minnesota Supreme Court created the Board by order on December 27, 1982.[^1] The record dates the mandatory IOLTA rule to 1983 and describes it as the first such court rule in the nation.[^1] It also describes IOLTA as the program that founded the Board and gave it its name.[^3] The record summarizes two U.S. Supreme Court decisions on IOLTA, both decided 5–4. In *Phillips* (1998), the Court held that the interest is the client's property. In [[Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington]] (2003), it upheld IOLTA on the reasoning that "just compensation" is measured by the owner's loss, which for each client is zero.[^4] The record does not include the text of either decision, and no court record for them is among the cited sources. On July 1, 2025 the Board became the State Board of Civil Legal Aid.[^1] The record does not identify the order or enactment that made the change. ## Funding The record states that the Board's dollars are mostly legislative appropriation, not IOLTA interest.[^3] IOLTA interest is small and depends on interest rates. It exceeded $1 million for the first time in a decade only in 2019–20.[^3] The record describes the Board as administering access to civil justice, with IOLTA as its founding source but a minority of the money.[^3] The record gives the fiscal year 2025 total as approximately $36,385,957.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Created by Minnesota Supreme Court order.[^1] - Known since July 1, 2025 as the State Board of Civil Legal Aid.[^1] ### What - Administers the civil-legal-aid apparatus.[^1] - The creating order produced the nation's first mandatory IOLTA by court rule (1983).[^1] ### Where - Services reached households across all 87 Minnesota counties (2023).[^2] ### When - December 27, 1982: created by Minnesota Supreme Court order.[^1] - 1983: mandatory IOLTA rule.[^1] - July 1, 2025: became the State Board of Civil Legal Aid.[^1] ### How much - Approximately $36,385,957 administered in FY2025.[^2] - Audited return of $4.32 per dollar.[^2] ### How many - 47,708 households reached in 2023.[^2] - 114,593 people reached in 2023.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), text at its note 64 — creation by Minnesota Supreme Court order of December 27, 1982; first mandatory IOLTA by court rule, 1983; State Board of Civil Legal Aid since July 1, 2025; administration of the civil-legal-aid apparatus. No URL for this source in the record. [^2]: Validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), text at its note 64 and verified 5W rows — FY2025 sum administered (~$36,385,957); 47,708 households and 114,593 people across all 87 counties (2023); audited $4.32 return per dollar. No URL for this source in the record. [^3]: Validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), text at its note 65 — funding mostly legislative appropriation; IOLTA interest small, rate-dependent, above $1 million for the first time in a decade only in 2019–20. No URL for this source in the record. [^4]: Validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), text at its note 66 — summary of *Phillips* (1998, 5–4) and *Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington* (2003, 5–4). No URL for these decisions in the record.