Can a lawyer keep the records the bar requires (bank statements, escrow records, bills) as scanned computer images instead of paper?
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This page answers the general question as of 1996. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current New York Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Canon 9 of New York's former Code required lawyers, in DR 9-102(D), to keep categories of records (retainer agreements, bills to clients, bank statements, escrow-account transaction records, and more) for seven years, and in DR 9-102(H) to keep them available at the lawyer's principal New York office for disciplinary production. With electronic imaging becoming available, a lawyer asked whether the records could be stored as computer images rather than paper.
The committee parsed the rule's own wording. DR 9-102(D)(3) through (7) refer to "copies" of documents such as retainer and compensation agreements, statements showing disbursements, and bills to clients. DR 9-102(D)(8), by contrast, refers not to "copies" but to "all checkbooks and checkstubs, bank statements, prenumbered canceled checks and duplicate deposit slips." The committee concluded that the (D)(8) items must be retained "in just the form described by the Code," meaning the actual paper documents, for the seven-year period. Records for which the rule expressly permits "copies" may be stored as computer images, relying on the committee's understanding that the images are kept on read-only media (such as CD-ROM) that print accurate reproductions and are no more alterable than paper copies.
The committee acknowledged that any storage method can be abused (paper can be altered by photocopier or scanner just as electronic data can be manipulated), so the storage means does not by itself materially change the potential for fraud. It cautioned that before changing formats a lawyer must ensure the new method safeguards against inadvertent destruction or alteration at least as well as paper and permits prompt production of accurate, unaltered copies under DR 9-102(H); and that a lawyer who discards paper before transferring all required copies risks spoliation and discipline under DR 9-102(I). Finally, records under DR 9-102(D)(1), (2) and the text following (8) (bank-account records and books of account kept in the regular course of business) need not be created on paper in the first instance, so records created electronically may stay electronic, while those created on paper ledgers should be kept in original form.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1996, under New York's former Code of Professional Responsibility, which New York replaced with the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2009. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: Can a lawyer scan and store required records as computer images?
A: The opinion concluded yes for records the Code lets the lawyer keep as "copies," provided the images are stored on reliable read-only media that produce accurate reproductions and guard against alteration at least as well as paper.
Q: Which records still have to be kept on paper?
A: The opinion concluded that the items DR 9-102(D)(8) names specifically (checkbooks, checkstubs, bank statements, prenumbered canceled checks, and duplicate deposit slips) must be retained in their original paper form.
Q: What must a lawyer confirm before switching to electronic storage?
A: The opinion concluded the lawyer must ensure the method protects against inadvertent destruction or alteration as well as paper does, allows prompt production of accurate copies under DR 9-102(H), and that all required copies are transferred before any paper is destroyed, on pain of spoliation.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interpreted DR 9-102(D) (record-retention categories and seven-year period), DR 9-102(H) (availability for production), and DR 9-102(I) (discipline for failure to maintain records) of New York's former Code. The Model Rule analogue is Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property and the associated recordkeeping requirements). New York replaced the Code with the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2009; the DR numbers cited here are historical, and the specific bookkeeping rules now appear in New York's current Rule 1.15.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- MR 1.15 (safekeeping property; recordkeeping)
- NY DR 9-102(D), (H), (I)
Other references:
- R. Raysman and P. Brown, "The New Technology for Storing Business Records," N.Y.L.J. (Aug. 9, 1994)
- 1995 SEC No-Act. LEXIS 684, Oppenheimer Management Corp. (Aug. 28, 1995): optical-disk storage for adviser records
See also
- NY State Bar Op. 1142: Electronic client files and charging to print
- NY State Bar Op. 1020: Cloud storage for sharing transaction documents
- NY State Bar Op. 1114: Electronic signatures on trust-account checks
Source
- Landing page: https://nysba.org/opinion-680/
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