Close the file under rule 14, including the seven-year limit
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- List the documents to return, the documents to keep, and the documents proposed for destruction, each with the reason rule 14 or rule 9 gives. Do not destroy anything. Do not put the papers into a public generative tool.
- What the lawyer must review
- Return client documents when asked, unless there is an effective lien
- Destruction after seven years is allowed, not required
- Client instructions or another legal obligation can require a longer hold
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. New South Wales
Produce. A list of documents to return, keep or destroy, with the rule stated and nothing destroyed.
Have ready. The documents on the closed file; Any client instruction about retention; Whether the lawyer has identified a lien.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The engagement ended two years ago and the client asks for the medical reports. The list marks them for return under rule 14.1. It does not mark them for destruction.
Stop and hand it back when
- The list would destroy a document.
- The list would put the file into a public generative tool.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | List the documents to return, the documents to keep, and the documents proposed for destruction, each with the reason rule 14 or rule 9 gives. Do not destroy anything. Do not put the papers into a public generative tool. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Rule 14.1 says that on completion or termination of the engagement, the solicitor with designated responsibility must ensure the client, former client, or a person they authorise, is given the client documents, or copies if they are electronic, as soon as reasonably possible when requested, unless there is an effective lien.
- Rule 14.2 says a solicitor or law practice may destroy client documents after seven years have elapsed since completion or termination of the engagement, except where there are client instructions or legal obligations to the contrary. The seven years is a permission. It is not a direction to destroy.
- Rule 9.1 says a solicitor must not disclose confidential information acquired during the engagement, except as rule 9.2 permits. The list does not disclose the file.
- Practice note SC Gen 23, paragraphs 7(e), 8 and 9A, warn against putting confidential material, or material produced under compulsion or on subpoena, into a public generative tool. The list is made in a firm-controlled tool. Health and wage records stay there.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| File retention and destruction schedule | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Schedule for keeping, returning or destroying a closed plaintiff injury file, using the client-documents rule opened for New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and the separate privacy duty. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015 (NSW), rule 14 · 2026-10-23
- Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015 (NSW), rule 9 · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of NSW, Practice Note SC Gen 23, paragraphs 7, 8 and 9A · 2026-10-23
Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. The lawyer applies ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and decides whether any breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
The lawyer checks whether an Australian law or a court order requires a record to be kept for longer than seven years before any destruction.