California who owns client file

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Carrillo and Stephen M. Law Firms Mentioned Dentons. Mentioned in a Law. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas.

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Exclusive Depth and Reach. Go to Legal Compass. But with the growth of technology and digitalization of files where firm intellectual property or work product may be unavoidably embedded into documents, the scope of the client file has become increasingly difficult to recognize. When making a lateral move, a departing partner should also take time to examine all existing agreements that may affect the transfer of client files.

California Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule Some agreements may only put restrictions on the notification process that a departing partner must follow i. In any case, it is imperative that a departing partner takes into consideration all legally enforceable documents that may impact this process.

The proper handling of client files is an important issue that a departing partner must consider when leaving an existing firm. Succession Planning for Dearly Departed Partners. Dena Roche is a trusted advisor to California law firms and law-related businesses, helping her clients understand, prepare for and resolve the critical issues facing law firms every day.

As a general rule, the papers and property that were accumulated by the attorney during the course of the relationship belong to the client, and the client has the right to receive the contents of the client file after the relationship has ended. But what if the client does not ask to take possession of their papers and property? Storing boxes of correspondence, transcripts, and evidence onsite at your office can take up valuable space, and storing them offsite at a storage facility can be expensive.

So how long must you keep them? And what, if anything, can you do to prevent the boxes from piling up in the first place? Like most things in law and life, the answers depend on the circumstances. Although California courts have not yet addressed the retention period, several bar associations within the state, including the State Bar of California, have provided non-binding guidance on this issue. As a threshold matter, these bar associations have recognized a distinction between civil and criminal cases for purposes of the retention period.

Civil files should be retained for no less than five years, but certain contents may never be destroyed absent client agreement. A specific time period for retaining all of the contents of a civil file does not exist absent an agreement with the client. But it and other bar associations have also recognized that, absent client consent, certain items should never be destroyed, including original papers and materials of inherent value received from a client.