USA compliance for small law firms

Research summary and findings for 'USA compliance for small law firms' — collected authoritative federal and state-focused sources covering professional ethics, trust accounting, formation and entity rules, taxes and payroll, data privacy and cybersecurity, BOI/beneficial ownership reporting, advertising and CLE requirements, unclaimed property, malpractice insurance, and practical compliance steps for small firms. Key topics identified: 1) Ethics and technology (ABA Formal Opinion 477R) — lawyers must take reasonable measures to protect client information; encryption and vendor due diligence recommended; competence in technology is required. 2) AI guidance (ABA Formal Opinion 512) — lawyers using generative AI must consider duties of competence, confidentiality, communication, and reasonable fees; informed consent and safeguards are recommended. 3) Trust accounts and IOLTA/IOLA — client funds must be handled per state IOLTA/IOLA rules; monthly reconciliations, separate ledgers, and avoiding commingling are essential; states have specific program pages and rules. 4) Formation and entity compliance — PLLC/PC/LLP rules vary by state; ownership and licensing restrictions often apply; firms must register with Secretary of State and maintain good standing (annual reports, fees). 5) BOI / FinCEN reporting — the Corporate Transparency Act requires beneficial ownership reporting for many entities (FinCEN BOI) and raised gatekeeper concerns; ABA has advocated protections for client confidentiality. 6) Federal compliance — IRS employment tax obligations, Form 8300 for large cash payments, ADA accessibility, HIPAA when handling PHI, and EEOC nondiscrimination requirements. 7) Cybersecurity & privacy — state privacy laws (e.g., CCPA/CPRA) and state cybersecurity rules (e.g., NYDFS) can affect firms; ABA and bar guidance recommend reasonable security measures, vendor due diligence, training, and incident response planning. 8) Advertising and fee rules — state bars regulate attorney advertising and fee agreements; rules differ by state (e.g., pre-approval or retention requirements). 9) Unclaimed property / escheatment — client funds and unclaimed trust balances may be reportable to state treasuries per unclaimed property statutes; states vary on dormancy periods and reporting obligations. 10) Practical compliance program elements — written policies (trust accounting, data security, employee policies), periodic audits, vendor contracts and security reviews, malpractice insurance, CLE tracking, client engagement letters with clear fee and confidentiality terms, and SOPs for trust account reconciliation and escheatment. Next steps: produce detailed blog content tailored to US small law firms with sections on each topic above and state-specific subsections for California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois summarizing trust account rules, formation/entity guidance (PLLC/PC), CLE obligations, and unclaimed property rules, referencing the authoritative state bar and government pages listed below.