The case is over, you want to toss your file - at least part of it. Learn why this isn't the best idea by a long shot.

1. The Importance of Keeping
Complete Client files
Posted on 01/26/2015
Do you keep a complete copy of your client files? If not, does your reasoning fall
into one of the following categories:
Vote
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Let’s consider these arguments individually.
Rationale: I don’t want to store the paper
I Don't Keep Complete Files Because...
I don't want to store the paper
Scanning is too time consuming
The court has all my pleadings
Oregon Law Practice
Management
Practice Management Tips for Oregon Lawyers
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2. Agreed! I don’t blame you one bit. Talk about inconvenient!
◾ You could keep files at home, but no one wants to do that and some of us
don’t have the space.
◾ You could keep files in your office, but it can look like a clutter bomb went
off.
◾ This leaves the expensive option: keeping files off-site.
Solution: Scan your closed files
The easiest solution is to stop adding to the problem. Resolve to scan your
closed files starting this year. Most practitioners will need a scanner for Oregon
eCourt. Put it to work as a file retention tool.
Rationale: Scanning is too time consuming
If your paper files aren’t “scanner” friendly, digitizing them at closing time can be
tedious and time-consuming.
Solution: Make your life easier and scan as you go
Scanning paper as you receive it means all file materials are electronic from the
start and the work is done automatically over the life of the file. In fact, if you
“scan as you go,” there is no reason not to simply be paperless.
After scanning, paper can be:
1. Shredded
2. Given to the client
3. Kept for a designated amount of time in a general chron file
4. Kept for a designated amount of time in simplified client file (e.g., dropped
into an expanding file folder)
Exceptions may apply to certain types of originals. See the PLF File Retention
Guidelines, available on the PLF website.
Rationale: The court has all my pleadings
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3. This is a specific example of the argument that if someone else has a copy of the
documents stored in my file, I don’t need to retain my set.
Solution: Keep it real
No one else possesses your exact client file, as you gathered it, for the purpose
you gathered it.
When you decide that it isn’t necessary to keep copies of the documents you
filed in court, the medical records used to prove your client’s damages, or some
other part of your file on the grounds that “someone else has a copy,” you
are taking a huge risk.
Many a lawyer has regretted the decision not to keep records because “they
were available elsewhere.” For example, the lawyer who said he withdrew from
a case long before a judgment was entered against his former client. The lawyer
claimed he withdrew, but had no documentation in his file. The court’s Register
of Actions showed receipt of a letter from the lawyer seeking to withdraw, but
when a PDF of the court file was obtained, there was no letter. Maybe the letter
never made it into the paper file. Or perhaps it was missed when the file was
scanned.
Regardless, the moral of the story is pretty apparent: anyone (including a court
clerk) can misplace, misfile, or lose a document. Never rely on another person or
entity to keep your records. PLF claim files are replete with similar examples.
In the event of a legal malpractice claim, it may be crucial to prove what you did
nor did not have in your file. And while it may be possible to obtain duplicate
records, doing so does not establish they were previously in your possession.
Additionally, defending the practice of discarding part of your file can be quite
uncomfortable at deposition or in front of a jury. Jurors hold lawyers to a high
standard and often naturally have sympathy for the plaintiff bringing a claim. If
your testimony shows that you shredded part of your file, jurors may draw the
wrong conclusion about your motives. Play it safe and keep your complete file.
All Rights Reserved [2015] Beverly Michaelis
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4. 2 THOUGHTS ON “THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING COMPLETE CLIENT FILES”
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This entry was posted in Malpractice Avoidance and tagged Beverly Michaelis,
digitize, File Management, file retention, Files, Oregon law practice
management, scanner, Scanning by beverlym. Bookmark the permalink
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Hong Dao
on 01/26/2015 at 10:09 am said:
This is a good one, Bev. Thanks!
Hong
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