§ discipline

Prompt accounting and return of money money

The lawyer must pay client money promptly into the client account, keep it available, account to the client, and return it promptly once there is no proper reason to hold it.

567 cases 65% strike-off avg suspension 29.4 mo avg fine 12,866 199 with dishonesty finding

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code SAR Rule 2.3; SAR Rule 2.4; SAR Rule 2.5 strong 389 cases
2.3 You ensure that client money is paid promptly into a client account unless: ... 2.4 You ensure that client money is available on demand unless you agree an alternative arrangement in writing with the client, or the third party for whom the money is held. 2.5 You ensure that client money is returned promptly to the client, or the third party for whom the money is held, as soon as there is no longer any proper reason to hold those funds.

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

E&W Barristers BSB Handbook no clear equivalent
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.9.1; R.9.2 partial
A recognised law entity shall properly account to clients for any financial benefit it receives as a result of instructions, except where they have agreed otherwise.

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

AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules no clear equivalent
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules no clear equivalent
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch9 — Responsibility for clients' monies; Ch2 — Accounting for monies strong 1 case
When client funds are received, they must be lodged without delay in a client account at an approved bank... A solicitor should return clients' monies held in a client account on behalf of a client in respect of a specific matter after the conclusion of the provision of legal services to that client in respect of that matter.

Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct no clear equivalent
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon VII(b)(ii) partial 107 cases
account to his client for all monies in the hands of the Attorney for the account or credit of the client, whenever reasonably required to do so

Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗

JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code G.1.33 partial
On the termination of a retainer, a member must account to the client for any money still held on behalf of the client and if so requested deliver to the client all papers or property to which the client is entitled, or otherwise held to the client's order.

Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.5-6; r 3.5-3 strong
3.5-6 A lawyer shall account promptly for a client's property that is in the lawyer's custody and upon request shall deliver it to the order of the client or, if appropriate, at the conclusion of the retainer. [3.5-3 A lawyer shall promptly notify the client of the receipt of any money or other property of the client, unless satisfied that the client is aware that they have come into the lawyer's custody.]

Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗

BC Lawyers BC Code r 3.5-6 strong 15 cases
A lawyer must account promptly for clients' property that is in the lawyer's custody and deliver it to the order of the client on request or, if appropriate, at the conclusion of the retainer.

Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 9.6 partial
A lawyer must render a final account to the client or person charged within a reasonable time of concluding a matter or the retainer being otherwise terminated. The lawyer must provide with the account sufficient information to identify the matter, the period to which it relates, and the work undertaken.

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 r 16 (Client money) partial
16 Client money

Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 5.23 partial
On termination a solicitor should, subject to any lien, promptly deliver to the client ... all papers and property to which the client is entitled or hold them to his order and account for all funds of the client then held by the solicitor.

Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct no clear equivalent

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

567 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.