The duty in context
Accounting records, reconciliation and reports money
The lawyer must keep accurate, contemporaneous accounting records, perform regular reconciliations, retain records for the prescribed period, and deliver any required accountant's report.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code SAR Rule 8.1; SAR Rule 8.3; SAR Rule 12.1 strong 644 cases
8.1 You keep and maintain accurate, contemporaneous, and chronological records to: ... 8.3 You complete at least every five weeks, for all client accounts held or operated by you, a reconciliation ... 12.1 ... you must: (a) obtain an accountant's report for that accounting period within six months of the end of the period; and (b) deliver it to the SRA within six months of the end of the accounting period if the accountant's report is qualified ...
Solicitors Accounts Rules · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC88.1; rC87.2 partial 4 cases
rC88 You must: .1 ensure that adequate records supporting the fees charged or claimed in a case are kept at least until the later of the following: .a your fees have been paid; and .b any determination or assessment of costs in the case has been completed and the time for lodging an appeal ... has expired ...; rC87 ... .2 proper records of your practice are kept.
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.8.4(c) partial
maintain appropriate financial records including good file management/ accounting practices to demonstrate compliance with this R.8
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 — Accounts regulations: General strong 61 cases
To establish and maintain proper accounting systems and proper internal control systems to ensure compliance with the regulations... To deliver an annual accountant's report, as required by the regulations.
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; Canon VII(b)(i) strong 105 cases
AN ATTORNEY SHALL MAINTAIN PROPER ACCOUNTS AND OBSERVE PROPER ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES IN THE CONDUCT OF HIS ACCOUNTS ESPECIALLY AS REGARDS ACCOUNTING FOR THE FUNDS OF HIS CLIENTS. ... (b)(i) keep such accounts as shall clearly and accurately distinguish the financial position between himself and his client as and when required ... he shall for these purposes keep the said accounts in conformity with the regulations which may from time to time be prescribed by the General Legal Council.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code R.7.4 c)-d) partial
Members must: ... c) ensure compliance with the Accounts Rules; d) maintain appropriate financial records including good file management/ accounting practices to demonstrate compliance with this R.7.4.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.5-5 partial
A lawyer shall maintain such records as necessary to identify a client's property that is in the lawyer's custody. [Detailed accounting records, reconciliations and accountant's reports are governed by the by-laws under the Law Society Act, not spelled out in the RPC.]
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 3.5-5 partial 21 cases
A lawyer must maintain such records as necessary to identify clients' property that is in the lawyer's custody.
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules no clear equivalent
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct no clear equivalent
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 no clear equivalent
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 2.03 Commentary 3 partial
Every principal is personally responsible for complying with the Solicitors' Accounts Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. F) and the Accountant's Report Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. A). All the principals will be liable to disciplinary action if there is a failure to comply with these Rules.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 9.13(a) partial
ensure that adequate records supporting the fees charged or claimed in a case are kept at least until the last of the following: payment of his fees, completion of any taxation or determination or assessment of costs in the case or expiry of the time for lodging an appeal against such assessment or determination of that appeal;
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
879 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
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Mark Pearson Ford
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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MA Shah, R Ahmed,
Breaches
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Pascale Edith Marie-Anne Wood-Atkins
Breaches, Failures
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Claire Louise Tunstall
Breaches
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Guy Richard Charles Bailey
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Ghobrial, Michael
Failure to adequately maintain trust account records — Professional Misconduct
Costs Fine Reprimand $4,000.00 Proceedings Instituted View decision -
Akin Joseph Adaramaja
Struck off, Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 02, 2013. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 35/2013 BETWEEN ELAINE FARR FRANC…
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Owen Kirkwood Clunie
Struck off, Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 28, 2013. | Appeal part allowed - Court of Appeal decision delivered September 22, 2014. | Struck off again - Disciplinary Committee …
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Ramon G. K. Gordon
Repayment Ordered/Conditional Suspension | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 28, 2013. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCILCOMPLAINT NO: 118/2012 BETWEEN TEASHA …
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Qing-nan Meng
Agreed Statement of Facts
Agreed Statement of Facts View decision -
W. Anthony Pearson
Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 27, 2013. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO. 110/2008 IN THE MATTER of PATRICIA DAWKINS and A…
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Patrick Aidan Crowley
In the matter of Patrick Aidan Crowley, a solicitor previously practising as a partner in the firm of Egan Daughter & Company, Solicitors, Church Street, Castlebar, Co Mayo, and in the matter of the Solicitors Acts 1954…
other View decision -
Patrick McCarthy
In the matter of Patrick McCarthy, solicitor, formerly practising as McCarthy & Co, Second Floor, Building 1000, City Gate, Mahon, Cork, and in the matter of the Solicitors Acts 1954-2011 [7748/DT144/11 and High Court r…
strike_off View decision -
Keisha McDonald
Fined, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered March 23, 2013. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT No. 177/2010 IN THE MATTER of MARK WILLIAMS v…
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James Hu
Agreed Statement of Facts
Agreed Statement of Facts View decision -
Kimberley Bridge & John Charles McNabb & Tracy Stansfield & Nicola Roach
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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Steven Ronald Shepherd
Breaches, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Ziad Al-Rawi
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others
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Andrew John Cresswell
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others
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Howard Victor Stone
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Andreas Erothodos Alexandrou
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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David Nigel Bird
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Ashok Kumar Sancheti
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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Iwan Meredydd Davies
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others
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Pamela Wall
In the matter of Pamela Wall, solicitor, formerly of 8 Carmody Street, Ennis, Co Clare, and in the matter of the Solicitors Acts 1954-2008 [6728/DT88/11 and 2012 no 75 SA] Law Society of Ireland (applicant) Pamela Wall …
suspension View decision
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.