Des Moines, September 29, 2016 — The Iowa Supreme Court Lawyer Trust Account Commission has begun the application process for a special grant program funded by a $2,816,719 Bank of America donation. Under the terms of the donation, these funds must be used by legal aid organizations in Iowa for foreclosure prevention legal assistance and community redevelopment legal assistance. Applicants must agree to participate in a data collection program intended to demonstrate the impact of the settlement funds in the grant purpose areas. Additional information is provided in the commission's request for letters of intent (LOI).
The commission is requesting all interested entities to submit a LOI prior to any submission of the commission's Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA) formal grant application form. A memorandum setting forth the requirements of the LOI is available in paper and electronic form by contacting the Lawyer Trust Account Commission, Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, by calling (515) 725-8029, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. The memorandum may also be downloaded from the commission's web page on the Judicial Branch website.
Legal aid organizations wishing to apply must email their LOI to [email protected] in electronic form, attached as a Word (.doc or .docx) document, on or before November 4, 2016. The commission will then review the LOI to ensure their compliance with the required format and whether they satisfy the commission's criteria as set forth in the memorandum. The applicants best satisfying the criteria will then be invited to submit a formal grant application. The commission will notify LOI applicants by December 3, 2016, as to whether they have been selected to submit a formal grant application. The formal grant applications will be due on or before 4:30 pm on January 6, 2017.
The donation is part of an August 2014 U.S. Department of Justice $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch. The settlement resolved civil investigations relating to residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, and practices concerning the underwriting and origination of loans. More than $30 million of the settlement was allocated to IOLTA programs in the U.S. for foreclosure prevention programs and community redevelopment legal services. This is the second donation the Iowa Supreme Court Lawyer Trust Account Commission has received from the settlement.
For More Information:
Contact: N. Trè Critelli, Office of Professional Regulation
(515) 725-8029
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952