File Retention and Management: ISBA Practice Resource Center

Articles

• Filing System Basics for Solo and Small-Firm Lawyers
  By Carl R. Draper, Illinois Bar Journal, February 2006
• How Long Must Illinois Lawyers Retain Case Files?
  By Anton F. Mikel, Illinois Bar Journal, February 2004
  A look at Illinois' murky law dealing with who owns the contents of a client's files and how long attorneys have to preserve them.
• File Retention: Preventing Brownfields in Your Storage Room
  By Karen J. Dilibert, Illinois Bar Journal, December 2002
  How can you avoid a massive, Superfund-style client-file cleanup down the road? Here are some pointers.
• Cover Me: Documentation Is More than CYA
  By Karen J. Dilibert, Illinois Bar Journal, June 2008
  Thoughtful documentation can promote good lawyer-client communication, keep clients from making horrible decisions, and work other magic.
• Law Firm Document Retention Policies
  By Sharon D. Nelson and John W. Simek, ISBA Corporate Law Departments Newsletter, June 2004
  
• Retention of E-Mail: Why Bother?
  By Michael D, Gifford, ISBA Law Office Economics Newsletter, February 2009
  
• Spring Cleaning -- A Dozen Pointers for Purging Files
  By Scott Mittman, ISBA Young Lawyers Division Newsletter, March 1999

ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct

• 01-02 , 94-19, 94-14 Disposal of case files
• 01-01, 94-13 Access to lawyer files
• 95-02 Lawyer’s access to closed files at former firm

Other Resources

• Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.15(a) – Safekeeping Property
• Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, 7.2(a)(1) - Advertising
• Supreme Court Rule 769 – Maintenance of Records

Have a suggestion for a practice resource? Please email Mark Mathewson.

These resources are presented as educational resources for for ISBA members. They should not be relied upon as a substitute for individual legal research, and the ISBA does not warrant the accuracy of the information that appears in them.