It is not uncommon for an attorney to receive a request for a client’s “file.” It could happen after a client changes attorneys, when a third party issues a subpoena, or, unfortunately, when the client is reviewing their rights to pursue a legal malpractice claim. Whatever prompts the request, determining an appropriate response can be difficult.

Today’s legal representations can generate voluminous files, containing much more than the old school series of folders with labels such as “Correspondence” and “Pleadings.” The rise of email and an endless amount of devices on which an attorney may conduct business has left the question of what constitutes the “file” open to interpretation. Various jurisdictions take different approaches to the issue.