The Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland (formerly "The Clients' Security Trust Fund"), was created in 1965 for the purpose of maintaining the integrity and protecting the good name of the legal profession. The Fund, supported financially by practicing attorneys, reimburses claimants for losses caused by theft of funds by members of the Maryland Bar, acting either as attorneys or as fiduciaries.
Mission & Purpose
The Client Protection Fund (formerly The Clients' Security Trust Fund) was established by the Maryland Legislature in 1965 (Chapter 779). The statute, now codified as Business Occupations and Professions Article, § 10-311, et seq., empowers the Supreme Court of Maryland to provide by rule for the operation of the Fund and to require from each lawyer an annual assessment as a condition precedent to the practice of law in the State of Maryland. Rules of the Supreme Court of Maryland that now are in effect are set forth in Maryland Rules 19-601 through 19-610.
The Fund is administered by nine trustees, eight of whom are lawyers.
The purpose of the Client Protection Fund shall be to maintain the integrity and protect the good name of the legal profession by reimbursing clients for losses caused by defalcation by lawyers, to the extent authorized by rule and deemed proper and reasonable by the trustees of the Fund. Reimbursement covers losses caused by misappropriation of funds by members of the Maryland Bar acting either as attorneys or as fiduciaries (except to the extent to which they are bonded) and by out-of-state attorneys who have been authorized to practice in Maryland.