Section 21 Legal Practitioners Act

Section 21 of Legal Practitioners Act 1975 is about Special Provisions as to Client Accounts with Banks. It is under ‘Safeguards for Clients, etc.‘ of the sections of the Act. It provides as follows:

1. A bank at which a legal practitioner keeps an account for clients’ moneys shall not, in respect of any liability of the legal practitioner to the bank which does not arise in connection with that account, have or obtain any recourse or right, whether by way of set-off, counter-claim, charge or otherwise, against moneys standing to the credit of that account.

2. A bank shall not, in connection with any transaction in respect of an account of a legal practitioner kept for clients’ moneys with that or with any other bank (other than an account kept by him as trustee for a specified beneficiary) incur any liability, or be under any obligation to make any inquiry, or be deemed to have any knowledge of any right of any person to any money paid or credited to the account, which it would not incur or be deemed to have in the case of an account kept by a person entitled absolutely to all the money paid or credited to the account.