Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: Amount of time to hold files

From the Attorney Registration and Disiplinary Commission's Web-site:

How long should I retain client files?

The Rule requirements for the retention of records are contained in Supreme Court Rule 769 (Maintenance of Records), Supreme Court Rule 756(e) (Disclosure of Malpractice Insurance); Rule 1.15(a) (Safekeeping Property), and Rule 7.2(a)(1) (Advertising).

Rule 769 requires a lawyer to maintain two types of records: (1) records identifying the name and last known address of the attorney's clients and whether the representation is ongoing or concluded; and (2) all financial records relating to the attorney's practice for a period of not less than 7 years after the representation is concluded.

Rule 756(e) requires a lawyer to maintain, for a period of seven years from the date the coverage is reported to the ARDC as part of the registration process, documentation showing the name of the insurer, the policy number, the amount of coverage and the term of the policy

Rule 1.15(a) requires that all records of trust accounts or other property held in trust is kept for a period of seven years after the end of the representation.

Rule 7.2(a)(1) requires retention of a copy or recording of the advertisement or written communication and a record of when and where it was used for a period of three years after its last dissemination.

For records other than those covered by the above rules, there are no rules that specifically cover how long a lawyer must keep records contained in a client�s file (unless the lawyer has been disciplined and the duties of Supreme Court Rule 764 would apply). Upon termination of the representation, the lawyer is required to return all papers and property received from the client (Rules 1.15(b) and 1.16(d)). For other records, the lawyer should exercise prudent judgment in determining how long to retain the client file, taking into consideration such things as when the statute of limitations for legal malpractice has expired, any particular difficulties in the relationship with the client or the representation, if the client was a minor or incompetent that might extend the period of limitations, whether the file contains any original documents that the client might want back, and whether any documents if destroyed would be difficult to reconstruct from other sources. See Thar, Anne E., How Long Should You Retain Client Files?, 83 ISBA Bar J. 649 (Dec. 1995).

There is no statute of limitations for a client or other person to complain about a lawyer�s conduct to the ARDC. For a discussion on the related issue of responding to a client�s request for a lawyer�s copy of closed files see ISBA Ethics Opinion Nos. 94-13 and 94-14 (January 1995) which can be obtained from the ISBA�s web site at www.illinoisbar.org.