Audit 400244

Eligibility – Documentation of Retainer Agreement Federal Award Program – Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Basic Grant, CFDA #09.120000 Statement of Condition – Out of sixty-five case files tested, one file did not contain the required retainer agreement. The case was not considered brief advice and consultation. Criteria – Legal Services Corporation Office of Inspector General Audit Guide for Recipients and Auditors’ Appendix A: Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC Recipients, April 2016, Part C, Section 1611, Eligibility states: “The recipient must execute a retainer agreement with each client when extended service representation commences or as soon as is practicable. No written retainer agreement is required when the recipient is merely providing advice and counsel or a brief service.” Questioned Costs – None. There was no effect on the expenditure of LSC funds. Cause – Upon occasion, the client is given the retainer agreement to sign and return and does not return the document. Effect – The missing retainer agreement indicates that the Corporation is not fully in compliance with documentation requirements in its case files. Recommendation – We recommend that every effort be made to obtain retainer agreements early in the representation process and follow-up on those that are not returned. Views of Responsible Officials – PTLA holds biannual mandatory staff trainings on the LSC regulations, which include a review of the requirements for retainers and citizenship attestations. In the summer of 2025, the training consisted of a series of short videos that are now saved to our Training Library and available to new staff. We have processes in place to obtain the required documents on paper or electronically. We are currently in the process of finalizing a new DocAssemble process that will make it easier for staff to obtain electronic retainers. PTLA continues to prioritize compliance with these rules. We will continue to work on policies and procedures, and stay up to date on technological advances, that can help us overcome the factors that lead to occasions in which clients do not return the documents that PTLA provided for their review and completion. These factors can include the time-sensitive nature of our work, clients’ inability to meet in person, the large geographic size of our service area, and some clients’ significant mental health issues that limit their capacity to complete paperwork. We will continue to evaluate the barriers, and systematic solutions to reduce these barriers.