Follow us on Twitter
Bernstein Shur
News & Resources | Firm News
Portland, Maine, November 28, 2011 – Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England’s largest law firms, announced today that attorney and shareholder Arnold Macdonald has been appointed to serve on the American Bar Association Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts Commission, which supports legal aid for those in need.
The IOLTA Commission advises state agencies on how to best maximize IOLTA interest earned from legal trust accounts – funds accumulated at no cost to the public, attorneys or their clients – through programs in all 50 states, along with the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.
A long-time champion of legal services, Macdonald is a past president of the Maine Bar Foundation, the Maine charity that channels IOLTA funds to provide civil legal aid for the poor, law-related education and administration of justice programs. The Bar Foundation named its annual award to the young lawyer who has best supported legal services “The Arnie Macdonald Award.”
While serving on the board of the Maine Bar Foundation, Macdonald worked on revisions to Maine’s IOLTA rule to require all lawyers to participate in IOLTA and to include IOLTA rate comparability to ensure that these accounts receive interest rates similar to comparable accounts held by other bank customers. Both initiatives are strategies to increase IOLTA income.
“I strongly believe in the value of legal services as one of the most powerful weapons against poverty and injustice,” said Macdonald. “IOLTA’s funding of legal services and education helps to even the playing field—ensuring that economic hardship does not stand in the way of obtaining justice.”
Macdonald is a member of the business law, construction, and real estate practice groups at Bernstein Shur. He was elected president of the Maine Bar Foundation in 2009, where he also served as a director from 2002-2010. Macdonald also served as chair of Maine’s Volunteer Lawyers’ Project Advisory Board and was selected as the Maine Bar Foundation’s delegate to the Maine’s Justice Access Group.
A resident of Freeport, Maine, Macdonald is a member of Associated Contractors of Maine and a past president of the Freeport Conservation Trust. He received his J.D. from the University of Denver School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from Bowdoin College.
About Bernstein Shur
Widely regarded as one of New England’s most entrepreneurial firms, Bernstein Shur is a multi-service law firm with more than 100 attorneys in offices in Maine and New Hampshire. Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation, and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur is Maine’s exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. More information is available at www.bernsteinshur.com.