Charles E. Rounds, Jr. – Suffolk University Law School

The trust being a multi-party relationship, it is not always that easy to discern at any given time whom legal counsel is representing, or should be representing, in matters relating to the trust’s creation and administration…more

The institution of the trust, a creature of the English Court of Equity, evolved deep in the bosom of the Anglo-American legal tradition. France, a civil jurisdiction, lacks a legal institution that is truly comparable. Her…more

This modified excerpt from Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2013) is a primer on the wrong of Unjust Enrichment and its principal remedy, Restitution. Unjust enrichment doctrine is very much alive and well in the real…more

Fifty years ago had a trustee asked his lawyer “What is the difference between a good-faith purchaser for value and a holder in due course?” the lawyer might not have had the precise answer in his head but he would have been…more

An “in terrorem” or “no-contest” clause in a trust instrument provides for the forfeiture or reduction of the equitable property interest of a beneficiary who contests the arrangement. In a recent New Hampshire case, Shelton,…more

Professor Brian Tamanaha’s new book, Failing Law Schools, does a good job of explaining why borrowing to obtain a lower tier law school education has become a bad deal for all too many, but fails even to acknowledge the sadder…more

Two U.S. Supreme Court cases long ago confirmed that Social Security is an unfunded federal welfare program. One writer at the Wall Street Journal has apparently yet to get the message…more

The great English legal scholar, Frederic William Maitland (1850-1906), saw the trust as “an ‘institute’ of great elasticity and generality; as elastic, as general as contract.” It is hard to disagree. Most mutual funds are…more

The trustee's primary allegiance is to the beneficiary, not to the non-beneficiary spouse or ex-spouse, unless the express terms of the trust provide otherwise. Thus, when there is marital discord, the trustee must suppress any…more

In a Ponzi scheme, the last man loses. In a Tontine, on the other hand, the last man wins, like musical chairs. Here is a link to Charles E. Rounds, Jr.’s article on the common law aspects of the Madoff Ponzi scheme: …more

As a general rule, one assumes no personal liability when one becomes a trust beneficiary. There are some exceptions, however. Charles E. Rounds, Jr. explains in Section 5.6 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2012). The…more

The English trust is a unique legal device whose origin has been the source of much debate among legal scholars. There are three theories concerning the origin of the English trust: the Roman, Germanic, and Islamic. Until the…more

In a letter to the editor of The Wall Street Journal (April 26, 2012, at A14), Charles E. Rounds, Jr. refutes the suggestion made by Prof. Alan S. Blinder of Princeton University in an April 20, 2012 op-ed in the same paper that…more

Unless the fiduciary issues and the representation issues in a trust dispute are properly sorted out in advance, there is a very real risk that an ill-considered rush to mediate or arbitrate will prove an expensive and…more

It is coming on a decade since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the IOLTA scheme constitutes a collective taking by the state of the property of clients. Still the scheme continues. Nothing has changed. Why? Charles E. Rounds,…more