BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Supreme Court of Kentucky has approved the appointment of the following to the IOLTA Board of Trustees by the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association for a three year term beginning July 1, 2019 an expiring June 30, 2022:
- Miller Grumley
First Supreme Court District
Paducah, Ky. - Rebecca Adams Simpson
Second Supreme Court District
Bowling Green, Ky. - Elizabeth “Betsy” G. Weber
Sixth Supreme Court District
Crestview Hills, Ky.
The Kentucky IOLTA Fund was established in 1986 by the Kentucky Supreme Court through SCR 3.830 which requires every lawyer maintaining a pooled client trust account to offer such account for participation in the Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Fund unless otherwise exempt under the provisions of the rule. The program uses the advantage of pooling client trust funds to generate interest in excess of service fees and administrative costs. Attorneys in the program deposit small or short-term trust funds into interest-bearing accounts with the interest being paid directly to the IOLTA Fund. Client funds remain under the control of the attorney who continues to maintain his or her trust account. Interest paid is not included in either the attorney’s or the client’s gross income.
The interest received by the IOLTA Fund is then disbursed in the form of grants for legal aid to the poor, local pro bono programs, and other projects that improve the administration of justice in Kentucky as may be specifically approved by the Kentucky Supreme Court from time to time. IOLTA is a unique and innovative way to increase access to justice for individuals and families living in poverty and to improve our justice system. Without taxing the public, and at no cost to lawyers or their clients, interest from lawyer trust accounts is pooled to provide civil legal aid to the poor and support improvements to the justice system. The Kentucky IOLTA Fund has awarded over $17 million in grants since 1988.
The IOLTA Fund is administered by the Kentucky Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of Kentucky’s legal community. Subject to the continuing jurisdiction of the Kentucky Supreme Court, the Kentucky IOLTA Fund is governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. The ten Trustees who are members of the Bar are appointed for a maximum of two successive three-year terms by the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association and approved by the Supreme Court. An additional member of the Board of Trustees participates as a representative of the Kentucky Bankers Association.
Attorney Charles E. English, a co-founding partner of ELPO Law, says, “Rebecca has once again made us proud of her demonstrated professional competence and commitment to public service. Serving on the IOLTA Board affords the opportunity to provide significant public service, establish meaningful relationships and gain valuable knowledge of the law, Bench and Bar. This is a significant appointment for Rebecca, recognizing her legal accomplishments and leadership in the profession.”
Rebecca Simpson is partner at English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, LLP practicing in the area of family law. Throughout her career, Simpson has been committed to professional excellence, to public service and to the improvement of the practice of law. To that end, she serves as a Guardian Ad Litem for children and represents indigent parents in child dependency, neglect and abuse actions and termination of parental rights cases. She serves as the Diversity & Inclusion Chair of ELPO Law and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Bowling Green Human Rights Commission. Simpson is also a trained mediator, and, in collaboration with her local family court judges, initiated a volunteer mediation project to help low-income families develop their own resolutions to disputes outside of court without resorting to litigation.
Simpson formerly served as chair of the Family Law Section of the Kentucky Bar Association and currently serves as chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. She also currently serves as Chair of the ADR Committee for the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. Simpson is a fellow of the Kentucky Bar Foundation and also serves as the Continuing Legal Education Committee chair for the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association. In 2016, Simpson was appointed by Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton, Jr. to serve as a Kentucky Trial commissioner to preside over disciplinary actions brought by the Kentucky Bar Association. In 2012, the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association presented Simpson with the Gwyneth B. Davis Outstanding Public Service Award and, in 2017, she received the Pro Bono Publico Award.
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