As early as June 1966, the concept of productively using the interest on monies in lawyers' mixed trust accounts had been discussed in Saskatchewan.

Australia adopted the first law foundation legislation in 1967, with British Columbia first off the mark in Canada in 1969. Saskatchewan adopted its legislation as of July 1, 1971, and today there are similar foundations in every province and territory in Canada. There are also similar foundations across the United States, where they are called “IOLTA” (for “interest on lawyers’ trust accounts”) programs.

The Law Foundation of Saskatchewan is established under The Legal Profession Act, 1990of Saskatchewan. Under that legislation it is compulsory for interest earned on mixed trust accounts to be paid to the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a fund for legal education, legal research, legal aid, law libraries, and law reform.

Since inception of operations in 1973 the Foundation has distributed over $94 million for its legislated purposes.