Legal professionals know they have a strict duty to preserve the confidentiality of their clients. Clients and courts expect law firms to handle all files properly. Many litigation processes focus primarily on electronic files – how they are collected, processed, reviewed, produced and, ultimately, deleted. However, it’s also still critical to think about the handling of paper files and what happens to them when they are no longer needed. Additionally, what happens to media like flash drives and computers that hold sensitive data? Just as with electronic files, paper documents and media need to be handled — and destroyed — defensibly and securely. Part of this process includes secure document destruction.
Preferably, shredding should be done at a certified document destruction company to ensure confidentiality and security. Secure shredding facilities use industrial-grade equipment to cut paper documents into tiny particles rather than strips as many at-home or in-office shredders do. Plus, they’re mixing your destroyed documents with hundreds of others, reducing the risk of thieves piecing together sensitive firm or client information. Hard drive and media shredders use specialized equipment to apply massive force onto the device, crushing it and cutting it into pieces.
Here’s why it’s important that your law firm makes shredding a priority.
Information security
As law firms are very paper-centric organizations, printed legal records are highly vulnerable to data breach threats. Organizing and keeping track of documents throughout every stage of their lifecycle is of the utmost importance.
Most legal documents contain a lot of personally identifiable information (PII), or details that are unique to an individual’s identity. Documents with any PII should be destroyed securely to protect clients, including case files, financial information and billing records.
Firms with in-house shredding practices often inadvertently put PII at risk – accidental errors and negligence are key factors in information breaches, and it doesn’t take much for documents to fall into the wrong hands.
Paper files are not the only ones that should be destroyed, though. Flash drives, USB drives and old media equipment – like computers – including potentially sensitive information should be securely destroyed, too, to ensure data is completely wiped out.
Even if the equipment or drives are erased, some PII can still be found on devices by using easily attainable software. A 2017 study by the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) found that 40 percent of resold electronic devices contained PII.
Legal compliance
When it comes to shredding client information, there are several rules to follow. You may think you need to securely dispose of them as soon as possible, or that it’s better safe to keep them forever than be sorry – however, that’s not the case.
According to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, there is no Tennessee Rule of Professional Conduct that requires a retention period of greater than five years following the termination of representation. However, the type of representation involved may mandate a longer retention time. For example, files regarding issues that deal with minors, criminal matters, trust funds or prenuptial agreements should be retained longer.
Before destroying a client or case file, be sure that someone reviews it to see if there is any reason it should be kept longer. Clients should also be made aware that the files are going to be destroyed and be allowed to pick them up if they please, since the documents belong to them.
State and federal regulations require that personal and confidential information remains confidential. If you decide to get rid of files, the only way to be sure this happens is to have them securely shredded. Keep a record of how and when each file is destroyed, too.
Storage space
Managing thousands of legal files is no small task. If law firms kept all files forever, it would become costly to maintain records rooms or store files offsite. Additionally, it can create clutter that’s not needed in an office space. Shredding documents can help minimize records storage costs without compromising confidentiality.
Nowadays, many law firms scan physical documents to make them editable and searchable digital files. Once that happens, you may want to shred the original documents – as long as the original document does not need to be retained.
Partnering with a document destruction provider can help firms reduce clutter and improve workflow. Depending on the volume of information that needs to be destroyed, security collection containers can be collected on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis to be securely destroyed by your provider.
Establish a records management practice to minimize risk and be proactive about protecting client information so that you don’t find yourself in trouble. Additionally, firm files – such as financial records and human resource information – should be securely shredded, too.
Finally, be sure to select a trusted NAID AAA Certified shredding facility that complies with state and federal laws and meets industry standards to ensure all firm and client files are destroyed securely and defensibly. This will prevent sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
Bowman Richards is the owner and president of Richards & Richards Secure Shredding in Nashville, Tennessee, the oldest and most trusted name in shredding and destruction services in the city. A Certified Secure Destruction Specialist, Bowman has been a member of the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association (i-SIGMA) and its predecessors since 2008 and currently serves as president-elect of the organizatio
