§ discipline

No personal handling of client money money

The lawyer (where the regime so requires, e.g. barristers) must not personally receive, control or handle client money other than fees for their own services, and any payment service used must not give them control.

5 cases 40% strike-off

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 4.3; SAR Rule 11.1 strong 4 cases
4.3 You do not personally hold client money save as permitted under regulation 10.2(b)(vii) of the Authorisation of Individuals Regulations, unless you work in an authorised body ... 11.1 You may enter into arrangements with a client to use a third party managed account ... only if: (a) use of the account does not result in you receiving or holding the client's money.

Solicitors Accounts Rules · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗

E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC73; rC74 strong 1 case
rC73 Except where you are acting in your capacity as a manager or employee of an authorised (non-BSB) body, you must not receive, control or handle client money apart from what the client pays you for your services. rC74 If you make use of a third party payment service ... you must: .1 Ensure that the service you use will not result in your receiving, controlling or handling client money;

BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.9.3 strong
An attorney-at-law is not permitted to personally hold client money.

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy

AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules no clear equivalent
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules r17(l) strong
A barrister must not, subject to Rules 18 and 19, ... (l) hold, invest or disburse any fund for any other person.

Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Solicitors Law Society Guide no clear equivalent
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 2.16 strong
In the interest of maintaining an independent referral bar Barristers are prohibited from directly or indirectly administering or handling the funds or assets of any client and Barristers shall not give any financial advice or assistance to a client or their solicitor on the investment of such funds or assets.

Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗

JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics no clear equivalent
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code no clear equivalent
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct no clear equivalent
BC Lawyers BC Code no clear equivalent
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 14.2(e) / r 14.10 strong
A lawyer who holds a practising certificate as a barrister sole must not— ... (e) receive or hold money or other valuable property for or on behalf of another person; ... Where a barrister sole accepts direct instructions ..., all money in advance of such work must be paid into a trust account of a fund holder who must be either: (a) a practice; or (b) a person or entity approved for that purpose by the Law Society.

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗

SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct no clear equivalent
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 no clear equivalent
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide no clear equivalent
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 5.19(a) strong
A practising barrister should not accept any instructions to:- (a) receive, disburse or otherwise handle clients' money, securities or other assets other than by receiving payment of his fees;

Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

5 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern

Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.