the importance of keeping complete client files

The Importance of Keeping

Complete Client filesPosted 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:

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Lets consider these arguments individually.

Rationale: I dont 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

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Agreed! I dont blame you one bit. Talk about inconvenient!

You could keep files at home, but no one wants to do that and some of us dont 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 arent 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



This is a specific example of the argument that if someone else has a copy of the

documents stored in my file, I dont 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 isnt necessary to keep copies of the documents you

filed in court, the medical records used to prove your clients 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 courts 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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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 [http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.com/2015/01/26/importance-of-complete-client-files/] .

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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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