A Lawyer’s Ethical Obligation to Notify Clients When Their Files Are Accidentally Destroyed – Formal Opinion 2015-6

SUMMARY

The Committee on Professional Ethics has issued an ethics opinion entitled, “Duty to Notify Clients When Their Files Are Accidentally Destroyed” (Formal Opinion 2015-6). The opinion grew out of calls that the City Bar’s ethics hotline has received in the wake of document destruction events, and the dearth of published guidance on a lawyer’s responsibilities when such a disaster strikes. The opinion advises lawyers with respect to both former and current clients and provides guidelines for when a lawyer is ethically obligated to inform clients of the accidental loss or destruction of client files.