One of the challenges for law firms is how to deal with the increasing volume of retained records such as closed client files and other administrative records. Records include both paper and electronic records.

The Professional Liability Reserve of the Law Society has developed this guide (by adapting a similar guide from the Law Society of Ontario) to assist lawyers to develop policies for the closure, retention and destruction of client files. Such policies assist lawyers to control the volume and type of records retained, manage risk and meet professional responsibilities.

Lawyers establishing such policies might also want to consider adopting policies for the retention and destruction of other administrative records generated or obtained by the firm such as business records, contracts with suppliers and other correspondence or documents.

Appendix 1 contains a sample file retention policy for law firms. No one policy can cover all situations relating to all law practices or practice areas. These sample policies are not intended to replace the lawyer’s professional judgment or the views of a law firm’s professional standards or other practice management committees, risk management partners or general counsel. When establishing a file retention policy a law firm should consider both the circumstances of the law firm’s individual and group practices as well as this guide.