My office retired a copy machine a few months ago, having worn it out - more than 2 million copies ran through it. The replacement is faster but also scans and e-mails. We make a lot of copies, and buy a lot of copy paper. It has been her long enough that we became attached to it and the repair man who came more and more frequently to replace parts.
The need for a reliable machine came to mind when we received about 800 pages of photocopies, wrapped with rubber bands, no staples and no organization, from another law office. It is what they represented as being the "client's file." We inherit such files a few times a year when we take over a case for a client.
On those rare instances when we turn a file over to a successor law firm, we make copies of most everything in it. But, we make and keep the copies for ourselves, in case a question comes up somewhere along the line, which happens occasionally. We don't keep the original file in those instances - the original, under California law, belongs to the client. We must pass it along to the next lawyer or to the client upon request at the end of our representation.
It doesn't matter whether we have already sent the client a copy of everything in the file in the years we have represented him or her. If we want to keep a copy, we need to make another set for ourselves and pass on the originals. This has been the rule for decades. In fact, prior to that change some lawyers used to try to hold the file hostage until their bills were paid - because of such conduct, the courts stepped in and made a rule to protect the client and enable the client to keep the case moving along, even if he or she couldn't pay the bill, couldn't afford to pay the costs to copy the file, or had a dispute with the lawyer over fees.
While forcing the lawyer to duplicate all these files may kill a lot of trees, it is a process to which most experienced lawyers have accommodated into their lives [although we still occasionally get all the originals removed from the file folders by those who should know better, so we must re-organize them]
As I wrote this, I had just got off the phone with a law firm from which I am taking over the file after my paralegal had attempted a firm discussion. They had dumped 3 inches of copies on our office, representing "the file." Pages were upside down, no dividers, no staples, just about 800 pages of crap for my staff to spend the time organizing, wondering if we had everything from the file. They didn't begin to know the rules - after arguing with my paralegal, they wanted to argue with me - I suggested they call the guy on the letterhead and ask him what the rules are - even years of living elsewhere probably haven't made him that stupid. A couple of hours later, the experienced lawyer called me personally to get "my side" of the story - I explained the situation, an it was easily resolved at that point, although it had taken 3 phone calls to get there.
It is little mistakes like this that beginning lawyers make that are a nuisance. Unfortunately, they also make mistakes that make a huge difference in the well-being of their clients because they don't even know what they don't know. Rather than go investigate, they simply take outlandish positions. END OF RANT.
