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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a name="Paul_Neumiller"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><img width=375 height=225 id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D15369.27F7D580"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>