Before a closed matter is offered
Who owns the client file? US and UK rules for a closed matter
A file is part client property and part the firm's own work, and every page of it is held in confidence. The rules say which part is which.
What the client is entitled to
ABA Model Rule 1.16(d) has a lawyer, on termination, surrender papers and property to which the client is entitled, and says the lawyer may retain papers relating to the client to the extent permitted by other law. The Law Society of Scotland's guidance lists documents produced by the client or produced by the solicitor for the client as material ordinarily owned by the client.
What is the firm's own
The same guidance treats notes of internal meetings and telephone calls that form part of the solicitor's preparatory work as the solicitor's. Under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the author of a work is the first owner of its copyright, subject to the section's other provisions.
Confidence outlasts the matter
- ABA Model Rule 1.9(c)
- A lawyer who formerly represented a client shall not reveal information relating to the representation except as the Rules would permit or require for a client.
- ABA Model Rule 1.8(b)
- A lawyer shall not use information relating to representation of a client to the client's disadvantage without informed consent.
- State Bar of California
- The State Bar's rule 1.6 rests on the duty to maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to preserve the secrets, of a client.
- ICO
- Its guidance on criminal offence data, the data about criminal allegations or convictions, points to UK GDPR Article 10.
Source: The rules on a firm using a closed matter's file
The general law firm questions, including precedents and closed-matter files across practice areas, are answered on a sister site: closed-matter files.