The files a law firm keeps about a matter belong, in a practical sense, to the client. Getting them back can be a different story. Record-keeping policies vary so widely across firms that clients with a routine request for their own file can encounter delays measured in weeks — or discover that the file no longer exists.
We reviewed retention policies and file-request procedures at a sample of firms, and spoke with clients who had requested their files after a matter closed.
The policies fell into three broad groups. Some firms retain matter files for a defined period — commonly five to seven years — and communicate that schedule to clients at the start of the engagement. Others retain files indefinitely but make no promise about format or completeness. A third group had no written retention policy at all, and handled requests on an ad hoc basis.
The clients we spoke with experienced the range. One received a complete electronic file within days of asking. Another was told after several weeks that the file had been destroyed under a retention schedule they had never been shown.
The rules of professional conduct in most jurisdictions require lawyers to protect client files and, in many cases, to return them on request. The rules say little about how quickly, in what format, or at what cost — and firms interpret that latitude differently.
For clients, the practical step is to ask about records before signing the engagement letter: how long the firm keeps files, whether the client can obtain a copy at any time, and whether there is a fee. In our review, the firms with written answers to those questions were the ones whose clients never had to ask twice.