Chapter 9

KEY POINTS
n    An accurate, complete, logical, efficient, and effective file management system is crucial to any law office.
n    Each legal matter must be maintained and stored separately.
n    Alphabetic file systems work best in small law offices.
n    “Paperless offices” are becoming a reality due to document management software and imaging.
n    Attorneys have an ethical duty to safeguard client property, including documents and files that clients have given them.
n    An attorney has an ethical duty to give the client his or her file if the client terminates the attorney-client relationship, even if the client has not fully paid for the services rendered.
n    Law libraries have changed drastically in the last few years due to technology. Shelves of hard-copy books have been replaced with computers that can access the Internet, CD-ROM libraries, Westlaw/LexisNexis, and other on-line resources.
CHAPTER OUTLINE/NOTES
I. Introduction to File Management
Law offices of all types need a file system that allows the office to store, track, and retrieve information about cases in a logical, efficient, and expeditious manner.
A poor file system typically has some or all of the following problems:
1)   Files are lost and cannot be found.
2)   Files are messy and disorganized.
3)   Office staff is unclear about how the filing system works.
4)   Attorneys and legal assistants do not trust the file system and keep their own files, or keep the office’s files in their possession.
5)   Staff is constantly aggravated and frustrated over the file system.
6)   Large amounts of time and money are wasted trying to find files and information.
7)   Poor-quality legal services are given to clients due to the poor filing system.
A.  Filing Methods and Techniques
1.   It is essential that each case or legal matter be maintained separately.
B.  Each Legal Matter Maintained Separately
1.   Even if one client has several legal matters pending with the office, each case/legal matter should have its own separate file and should be given its own file number.
C.  Alphabetic Systems
1.   In an alphabetic filing system, cases are stored based on the last name of the client or name of the organization.
2.   In offices with a large number of cases, an alphabetic system may not be the best kind of filing system.
3.   Alphabetic systems are difficult to expand and can mean constantly shifting files to make room for more.
D.  Numerical Systems
1.   In a numerical filing system, each case or legal matter is given a separate file number.
2.   Numerical systems solve some of the problems of alphabetic ones, such as constantly needing to shift files and having multiple files with the same name (e.g., John Smith).
E.  Bar Coding
1.   Bar coding is a file management technique in which each file is tracked according to the file’s bar code. Each time a user takes a file, the file’s bar code and user’s bar code are scanned into a computer.
F.   “Paperless Office”—Electronic Document Management
1.   Document management software organizes, controls, distributes, and allows for extensive searching of electronic documents, typically in a computer-networked environment.
2.   In a “paperless office” environment, all information is stored electronically.
3.   Document management software easily tracks and stores computer files that are already in an electronic format, such as word processing, e-mail, and spreadsheet files.
4.   Document management software can also accommodate hard copy documents through the use of imaging. Imaging uses a scanner to capture an image of a document. That image is stored electronically and can be retrieved later.
5.   Document management software advantages include:
a.   Being able to share information across vast distances
b.   Tracking and reporting capabilities
c.   Reduced instances of misfiling
d.   Ability to easily and quickly create a backup copy of information
e.   Reduced space and storage costs
f.    Ability to quickly search and sort information
G.  Corporate, Government, and Legal Aid Filing Methods
1.   Corporate law departments and government departments may arrange their matters differently. They may file matters by subject, by department, or by other means that suit their particular industry or need. Legal aid offices typically file cases alphabetically or even geographically, by city or county.
H.  Centralized v. Decentralized
1.   A centralized file system is where a file department or file clerk stores and manages all active law office files in one or more file rooms.
2.   In a decentralized file system, files are kept in various locations throughout the law office, such as each department storing its own files or each attorney keeping his or her own files.
I.    Opening Files
1.   When a new or existing client comes into the office with a new legal matter, a new file should immediately be opened.
2.   The opening of a new file should be standardized and require certain information about the legal matter.
3.   A file opening form (sometimes called a new client/matter form or case sheet) is customarily completed when opening a new file.
4.   The file opening form is used for a variety of purposes, including to check potential conflicts of interest, to assign a new case number and attorney to the matter, to track the area or specialty of the case, to set forth the type of fee agreement and billing frequency in the case, to enter the case in the timekeeping and billing system, to make docketing entries (such as when the statute of limitations in the matter might run), and to find out how the client was referred to the law office.
J.   File Format/Internal File Rules
1.   Many offices use separate manila files for subdivisions in the same case, in order to differentiate information in the same file (e.g., having files for “Accounting,” “Discovery,” “Pleadings,” “Client Correspondence,” and so forth). The individual manila files are typically stored in one or more expanding files, so that all of the files for one case are kept together.
2.   Many offices also use metal fasteners in the manila files to hold the papers securely in place. The exception to this is original documents that should not be punched. Instead, they should be maintained separately, and a copy should be kept in the regular file.
3.   Information in each manila file is placed in chronological order, with the oldest information on the bottom and the newest on top of the file. This gives the user a systematic way of finding information.
K.  Color Coding
1.   Color coding files is a simple but effective way of reducing the number of misfiled documents. Files can be color coded in a variety of ways, such as by determining that red files are probate, green files are criminal matters, and so forth.
L.  Checking Files Out
1.   In some law offices, where many people have access to files, staff members are required to complete checkout cards similar to a library that state the file number checked out, who is checking the file out, how long the file is expected to be needed, and other similar information. This is similar to most court systems, where the original documents are filed with the court clerk but the file can be checked out by anyone.
II. Closing, Storing, and Purging Files
1.   After a legal matter has come to a complete conclusion and the final bill has been paid, the file is typically closed, taken out of the storage area of active files, and boxed up and kept in the office’s basement or at an off-site storage facility (for a certain number of years until it is destroyed).
2.   A closed file is sometimes called a “dead file” or a “retired file.” Once a case is closed, some offices give it a new number to differentiate it from active cases.
III. File Management and Ethics
A.  Conflict of Interest Checks
1.   It is important, when a new case is being considered, that a conflict of interest check is made immediately to ensure the law office has not represented an adverse party or would have another type of conflict.
B.  Client Property
1.   Offices should be careful when closing files, and especially when destroying files that may include documents or other information that was given to the attorney by a client. Rule 1.15 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct states:
(a) A lawyer shall hold property of clients or third persons that is in a lawyer’s possession in connection with a representation separate from the lawyer’s own property. . . . Other property shall be identified as such and appropriately safeguarded. . . .
C.  Duty to Turn Over Client Files When Client Dismisses Attorney
1.   In many states, an attorney also has a duty to turn over to a client his or her file when the client decides to fire an attorney and to hire another attorney to represent him or her.  What must be turned over to the client depends on the ethical rules and case law in your state.
D.  Destruction of Records of Account
1.   Rule 1.15(a) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct provided the minimum rules for how long attorneys should keep client account/fund information:
      Complete records of . . . account funds and other  property shall be kept by the lawyer and shall be preserved for a period of [five years] after termination of the representation.
Law offices should carefully maintain accurate and complete records of the lawyer’s receipt and disbursement of trust funds in every case.
E.  Confidentiality
1.   An attorney’s duty to maintain the confidentiality of client-related matters should be a factor when considering a law office file management system. Files must be maintained so that sensitive information about a case or client is maintained. Also, the confidentiality rule does not stop once the case is closed. Law offices should be careful to destroy or dispose of files in a manner consistent with the confidentiality requirements.
IV. Introduction to Law Library Management
Law libraries are changing. The Internet, CD-ROM libraries, and data services such as Westlaw and LexisNexis have forever changed how and where lawyers and legal assistants access legal research. Legal professionals can now access many legal research materials straight from their computers without using a library.
A.  Developing a Library Collection
CD-ROM
Currently, state statutes, federal statutes, state reports, bankruptcy reports, tax reports, federal reports, and many other legal publications are available on CD-ROM. A single CD-ROM can hold about 300,000 typed pages. CD-ROMs take up almost no space on the bookshelf and can be searched using keywords like “Westlaw” or “LexisNexis.”
B.  Cataloging and Classifying the Collection
Cataloging is the process of listing and organizing the inventory of a library. This usually includes giving each book a separate call number and listing the book’s author, title, publisher, subject, publication date, and so forth. Some offices classify and catalog their collections according to the Library of Congress classification system or the Dewey Decimal system. The Library of Congress system uses the alphabet for its general divisions.
Other offices may simply group materials together by having a tax section, labor section, real property section, and so forth. This is sometimes called a “neighborhood” classification system.
WEB LINKS
http://www.abanet.org
American Bar Association site.
http://www.abanet.org/lpm
American Bar Association site devoted to law practice management.
http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/home.html
American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center site.
http://www.alabar.org/lomap/articles.cfm
Alabama State Bar Association site devoted to law practice management.
http://www.alanet.org
Association of Legal Administrators site.
http://www.gabar.org
Georgia State Bar Association site.
http://www.lawofficecomputing.com
Home page for Law Office Computing magazine.
http://www.lawtechnews.com
Home page for Law Technology News periodical.
http://www.law.com/jsp/ltn/whitepapers.jsp
Home page for Law Technology News white papers on legal technology issues.
http://www.msba.org/departments/loma/articles/index.htm
Maryland State Bar Association site.
http://www.njsba.com/law_office_manage/index.cfm?fuseaction=articles
New Jersey State Bar Association site devoted to law practice management articles and information.
http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Attorney_Resources/Practice_Management/Practice_ Management.htm
New York State Bar Association site devoted to law practice management.
http://www.scbar.org/pmap/resources.asp
South Carolina State Bar Association site devoted to law practice management.
KEY TERMS
alphabetic filing system
bar coding
centralized file system
CD-ROM legal database
decentralized file system
document management software
file opening form
imaging
off-line
on-line