Oregon Law Foundation

**About Us** We fund justice for all: provide legal services, promote diversity, and educate the public. **History****1981** The Oregon Law Foundation was created by the Oregon State Bar to fund law-related charities. **1983** The Oregon Supreme Court approved creating a voluntary Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. IOLTA programs began in Australia and Canada in the early 1970s. The concept was simple: the Foundation asked legal professionals to convert their non-interest-bearing, pooled client trust accounts into interest-bearing accounts, with the interest benefiting the Foundation. **1988** The OLF, the Oregon State Bar, and the Oregon Supreme Court worked together to transform the voluntary IOLTA program into a mandatory one. In November 1988, Oregon lawyers voted two to one for mandatory IOLTA, and Oregon's mandatory IOLTA program began May 1, 1989. **2005** Oregon banks worked with the OLF to create the Leadership Bank program (now [Leadership Banks & Credit Unions](https://oregonlawfoundation.org/partners-in-justice/)) to highlight the generosity of banks that voluntarily pay above-market interest rates on IOLTA.