Things You Need to Know About Document Retention and Destruction in the Legal Sector

Here in the EU, our General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) set a trailblazing example of data protection rights and privacy. As a result, we have some of the best-protected data for individuals in the world.

However, with increased data protection, various exemptions, legitimate interests, and many other grey areas emerging as the UK gets through its GDPR teething problems, it can sometimes be difficult to know which records should be kept, and which records need to be destroyed.

This can be difficult for law firms in particular due to variations in regulations for specific legal sectors. Knowing when to retain and destroy documents should be a top priority for law firms, as with handling confidential client information comes the responsibility to protect this information.

So, what documents do we need to keep?

Below are the information retention schedule regulations used by the Information Commissioner’s Office in August 2018. This is a good place to start when drawing up your own retention schedule.

These regulations ensure that data is not kept for longer than necessary, and any data kept for legal reasons is periodically reviewed.

What about data destruction exemptions?

In criminal law, there are many exemptions from data destruction. In England and Wales, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 (Part 5) overrules GDPR and makes provision for the retention of DNA profiles and fingerprints amongst other records. If a conviction has been made for a recordable offence, the individual’s DNA profiles and fingerprints may be indefinitely on file.

However, many records held by law firms such as non-disclosure agreements, opinion letters and factual summaries in convicted cases may have to be expunged if not required to pass onto The National Archives. This will usually happen once the convicted person has completed their court-mandated sentence, and is a means of protecting the individual as well as witnesses from further ramifications after they have fulfilled their societal obligations. This is why the review and destruction processes are so important.

How can I destroy legal documents safely?

Shredding documents that are no longer needed is the safest and most secure option law firms can take to protect their sensitive records. Another advantage of shredding is that it will reduce the costs of holding onto inactive records kept in long-term storage. Electronic files and digital media storage devices containing sensitive information must also be destroyed if no longer used, even if encrypted or wiped, as this information can still be recovered by an experienced data thief.

We hope this article has shed light on your obligations when retaining legal records, actions to take after retention periods, and implementing their destruction.

Here at Shred Station, we are fully accredited to securely handle the destruction of your confidential data. If you’d like to request a free e-brochure, call back, or a quick quote, you can do so via the Shred Station homepage.

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Information correct at time of publication, 4th February 2019. If you would like further clarification with regards to retention and destruction periods for your specific industry, please seek further guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. Shred Station can accept no responsibility for any incorrect retention or review guidelines in the above text. These information retention schedule regulations are as detailed by the Information Commissioners Office in August of 2018. To stay updated with industry guidelines after the date of publication, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.