Which Files to Keep, and Which to Destroy?

Published November 1, 2005

Hurricane Katrina brought home the importance of file management and record security for every law firm. Make it a point to regularly back up all computer data and store important records and documents off-site, perhaps even in another part of the country. This also applies to crucial paper records such as master files, time and billing records, court dates and appointments, wills, powers of attorney and corporate records. The frequency of computer back-ups depends on how much work you produce between back-ups and how much you can afford to lose. Store all important data and paper backups at a secure and specially designed location.

Security concerns involve the broader issue of efficient record management. Lawyers know they have to retain, indefinitely, the valuable property that belongs to clients where they are unable to return such property to the client. Valuable client property includes documents such as original notes or securities, original wills and settlement agreements. The best approach, of course, is to return such property and not pay the storage costs. Consider a provision in your engagement agreement that allows for return of the valuable documents and property to a last known address at the conclusion of a matter or by a date certain (e.g., in estate planning matters), whichever first occurs.

An alternative is a formal letter to clients directing them to pick up their files within a stated time, say 30 days. Although your client notification letter may state that clients must pick up their files within 30 days, you should keep these files for two years, unless, of course, the rules of your jurisdiction require a longer storage period. The rules and specific time periods for storing or destroying client files vary by jurisdiction. Depending on your state’s statutes, after the storage time has lapsed, destroy the files in accordance with your file retention policy. Then, the question becomes, how best to destroy the files. Here are some suggestions about what to consider to get this task done right:

  • Bring in an outside person, perhaps from a work training program for the disabled, to collect the materials without disrupting office workflow.
  • Use a photocopy machine to scan documents and place the files in .pdf format, which does not involve a photocopy charge.
  • Destroy oldest files first, and use a file storage house to shred the tossed materials to avoid identity theft and other security issues.
  • Have a lawyer or someone with the requisite knowledge review the files and remove all original documents before destruction of the files after scanning

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