[WSBAPT] Fee Agreement Provision

[Lisa Schuchman]

Here is my whole section on the subject:
V.        OWNERSHIP OF OFFICE FILE:  During the course of your case you will be supplied with copies of all letters, pleadings and other documents generated or received by me.  At the conclusion of my representation of you as a client, because it is necessary for me to retain your file for my records, the office file belongs to me.  Any original documents, photographs, or exhibits which you have provided to me will be returned to you upon your request.  Whenever possible, you will be asked to supply me with photocopies of requested documents such as tax returns and keep the original for your own files.

If you request that a duplicate file be produced at the end of my representation of you, there will be charges, payable in advance, including $.11 per page for copying and a fee for the legal assistant's and/or attorney's time in preparing the file for release to you.  Three months after the end of my representation of you, the file will be moved to my closed file storage area.  If the file or any document from the file is requested later than three months after the end of my representation of you, there will be a charge for retrieving the file or documents from storage. Six years after the end of my representation of you, the file may be destroyed without further notice to you.  Copies of documents which are filed with the court can be obtained from the court clerk's office by you or through an attorney.

            Although our communications are privileged, in the event of my death or disability, another attorney or the Washington State Bar Association may have access to and control of your file in order to make sure that it is properly managed, transferred or destroyed in accord with the legal and ethical requirements of the legal profession.  This management shall include collecting accounts receivable.

Lisa E. Schuchman
206-325-2801
www.lisaschuchman.com<http://www.lisaschuchman.com/>

Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid. -Albert Schweitzer

NOTE: I do not use encrypted email.  Messages sent to or from my office via email are not secure and may not be protected by attorney-client privilege. This email address is not monitored at all times.  If your matter is urgent, please phone my office during regular business hours.

Any tax advice included in this document and its attachments was not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code.
P  Please consider the trees before printing this document

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Paul Neumiller
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 9:59 AM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] Fee Agreement Provision

As I spend hours in the basement deciding which old files to shred, a thought came to mind.  Does anyone out there in lawyerland use a provision/paragraph in his or her fee agreement that says, basically, the attorney has the right to destroy the file after say, 7 years.  I know one attorney's fee agreement says that the attorney will retain the file for one year but is not obligated beyond the one year (BUT, he holds onto the file for at least seven years.)  I am hoping this posting will address the nature of a fee agreement provision and NOT the topic of how many years to retain files, based on type of file, etc.

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