Law Firm Bookkeeping and Trust Accounting in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has one of the largest and most varied legal markets in the country. The Los Angeles County Superior Court is the largest unified trial court in the United States, and the firms that appear in it range from solo personal injury attorneys in the San Fernando Valley to entertainment, employment, and immigration practices downtown and on the Westside. A&W Associates provides remote bookkeeping and trust accounting for Los Angeles law firms, built around California’s own trust account rules.
California Trust Accounting Rules for Los Angeles Firms
California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 and the State Bar’s trust account standards require a written ledger for each client, a journal for each trust account, and a monthly reconciliation that balances the client ledgers, the account journal, and the bank statement. Records must be kept for at least five years after the funds are distributed. We perform that monthly three-way reconciliation and keep the supporting records organized by client, so they are ready when someone asks for them.
Annual CTAPP Reporting
Under the State Bar’s Client Trust Account Protection Program, California attorneys must register their trust accounts, complete a self-assessment of their trust accounting practices, and certify compliance with Rule 1.15 each year during license renewal. Account registration uses the December 31 balance of cleared transactions. We provide reconciled year-end balances and an organized record set to support that reporting. The certification itself remains the attorney’s responsibility.
Contingency-Fee Practices and MICRA
Personal injury and medical malpractice work make up a large share of the Los Angeles market. For medical malpractice cases filed on or after January 1, 2023, California’s amended MICRA statutes generally limit contingency fees to 25 percent if the claim resolves before a complaint or arbitration demand is filed, and 33 percent after. Those calculations depend on accurate cost and settlement records, which we track matter by matter. Learn more on our personal injury and medical malpractice bookkeeping pages.
Los Angeles Business Tax and California Entity Taxes
The City of Los Angeles taxes many professional service businesses on gross receipts, at $4.25 per $1,000 for the professions and occupations classification, with apportionment available for services performed outside the city. California law firms are commonly organized as professional corporations or limited liability partnerships, and those entities generally owe the state’s $800 minimum franchise tax each year. We keep your books organized so your CPA can handle both efficiently.
Practice Areas We Support in Los Angeles
- Personal injury firms handling auto, premises, and catastrophic injury cases
- Employment law practices with wage-and-hour and discrimination settlements
- Immigration practices serving family-based and removal defense clients
- Intellectual property and licensing work for media and entertainment clients
- Family law, criminal defense, and solo practices across the county
How We Work With Los Angeles Firms
A&W Associates is based in Florida and works with Los Angeles firms remotely, using cloud-based accounting and the practice management software your firm already uses. We schedule calls and month-end deadlines around Pacific time. Contact us to talk about your firm, or see all of our law firm bookkeeping services by practice area.
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Attorneys should review the trust accounting rules applicable to their jurisdiction and consult appropriate legal counsel or a CPA when necessary.
