New York County Lawyers Association Officers Issue Statement Opposing the Proposed Sweep of $55 Million from the IOLA Fund.

The New York County Lawyers Association has just been advised that the Governor proposes to sweep $55 million from the IOLA Fund in the most recent round of State budget discussions. While less than the $100 million the Governor initially proposed to sweep, her most recent proposal reneges on a promise she made when she pledged to abandon the proposed sweep in its entirety.

The IOLA Fund’s founding legislation pledges that IOLA funds are reserved for specified statutory purposes, including indigent legal services and improvements to the administration of justice, under the authority and control of the IOLA trustees. For that reason, we opposed the Governor’s original proposal; the swell of opposition among the legal community and the public led her to abandon it by removing it in her 30-day amendments. We believe the new proposal is once again unwise and contravenes the IOLA Fund’s legislation.

On February 12, 2024, NYCLA’s Board of Directors resolved to oppose any transfer of money out of the IOLA Fund as inconsistent with the mission and legislative history of the IOLA Fund. Any proposed transfer has the potential to harm not only those on the frontlines of civil legal services delivery, but the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who receive those services.

We are cognizant that budget discussions are often fluid, but if the Governor is proposing to invade the IOLA Fund—we oppose.

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About the New York County Lawyers Association

The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.