FROM SEACOASTONLINE.COM, 4/6/19
SANFORD — SIS Bank has become a Prime Partner in Maine’s “Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts” Program, an initiative that generates an ongoing source of funds to provide civil legal services for individuals and families who cannot afford it.
“The Maine Justice Foundation welcomes SIS Bank as one of our Prime Partners,” said Foundation Executive Director Diana Scully. “We are extremely grateful to them for their commitment to this highest level of support that will help provide legal services to low-income and vulnerable Mainers facing complex and life-changing civil legal issues.”
SIS Bank joins 41 financial institutions in Maine that hold IOLTA accounts for Maine lawyers and is the seventh Prime Partner. Prime Partners have committed to paying the highest interest rates, as determined by the Foundation, on all IOLTAs established at one of their branches.
Founded in 1933, SIS Bank has branches in seven communities throughout Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire. According to Vice President Christopher MacDonnell, “SIS Bank looks forward to joining the Foundation and other Prime Partners in contributing to the important cause of access to justice for all members of our communities.”
The IOLTA Program is a critical source of funding for six core providers of legal aid in Maine. Without taxing the public, and at no cost to lawyers or their clients, IOLTA dollars are pooled to secure access to civil legal services provided by these organizations.
In the mid-1980s, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court created Maine’s IOLTA Program and entrusted the Foundation with its operation. The Maine Justice Foundation encourages Maine lawyers to seriously consider banking at financial institutions that participate at the Prime Partner level. Prime Partner institutions are currently paying 2.0 percent APY on IOLTAs.
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