File management

A question frequently asked by solicitors is, 'should we print off e-mails and put them on the file?'


The short answer is yes. Solicitors face the problem of being half way between a paper-based and paperless office. This often results in correspondence ending up in different locations, some of it on the file, and the remainder either in an inbox or half way between the inbox and the file. Good file management dictates that all correspondence is filed in one place, in date order.


This is important for many reasons but, most notably, so that there is a central record of what has happened in relation to that particular client's retainer and, if a colleague has to look at a file in a fee-earners absence, there is no doubt as to whether the file accurately reflects the current position. It does not matter if the file is stored in its entirety either electronically or manually, so long as it is all in one place.


Claims handlers observe that their jobs are not made any easier by the fact that often files do not accurately reflect what has, or has not happened, by reason of crucial correspondence being missing. Good housekeeping would also suggest that care is taken when filing an e-mail to ensure that unnecessary duplication of correspondence is avoided. This is especially the case when e-mails attach all previous correspondence when sent.


Another question often asked is: 'How long should we keep our old files?' Care needs to be taken when selecting a destruction date for a file. For the cautious firm, files will be kept for as long as it is possible to be sued, so as to ensure that, again, there is access to evidence to refute a claim. This would mean taking into account the limitation periods for a professional negligence action. Briefly, primary limitation is six years and the longstop limitation, 15 years. Consider the need to keep for an additional year to cover the situation where proceedings may be issued on the cusp of limitation and served after the expiry of the limitation date.


However, that is general advice and each file should be considered on its own merits at the end of the retainer and a destruction date decided on. Particular care needs to be taken where the client was, or is, under a disability and time has not started to run for limitation purposes.


There is helpful guidance in annex 12A of the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, 1999, eighth edition. Finally, remember that some of the papers will belong to the client, or third parties, and therefore the necessary consents to destroy the papers should be obtained.


This column was prepared by AFP Consulting, a division of Alexander Forbes Risk Services UK