Who Owns What on File
Material ordinarily owned by client:
Documents produced by the client or produced by the solicitor for the client.
Written Opinions (whether principals or copies) but not preparatory personal notes prepared for the solicitor's benefit.
Draft formal documents and deeds. (These may be of evidential importance to the client in the event of the loss or destruction of the principals.)
Written submissions tendered in Court, but not detailed research notes and other documents generated for the solicitor's own personal use. Precognitions taken by the solicitor or obtained from other parties but see No. 11 of the Code of Conduct for Criminal Work where they may contain sensitive material and where it might be inappropriate to pass this information to clients. See Swift v. Bannigan 1991 S.C.L.R. 604, although the Dean had reservations about this case.
Original letters received from and copy letters to third parties.
Copies of letters written to the client, although if these have been retained by the solicitor as part of a private record or if the contents relate exclusively to the contractual relationship between the solicitor and the client, the solicitor may own them.
Notes of meetings and telephone calls, which constitute the solicitor's work on behalf of the client.
Files and documents received under a mandate.
Material ordinarily owned by solicitor:
Original letters received by the solicitor from the client.
Notes of meetings and telephone calls, which form part of the solicitor's preparatory work.
Inter-office memoranda.
Sensitive material and precognitions in criminal cases should be dealt with in accordance with No. 11 of the Code of Conduct for Criminal Work.
For more information on questions of professional conduct and ethics, please see the Law Society of Scotland's A-Z Guide here.