Document Filing System Checklist

Cross-check the document against the PMS matter list (Clio, NetDocuments, iManage). Common gotchas: sub-matters under a parent client, billing matter vs. work matter, and inbound mail addressed only to a client name with no matter reference. Reject anything you cannot tie to an open matter back to the responsible attorney.

Apply Rule 1.6 confidentiality and work-product tagging at intake — not at production. Look for attorney-client communication, mental impressions, settlement-privileged content, and matter-specific sensitive categories (medical, immigration, financial). Mis-tagged-at-intake documents are the most common source of inadvertent production downstream.

Use barcoded or color separator sheets so the scanner splits the batch into discrete documents in the DMS. Otherwise a 200-page batch lands as one PDF and has to be hand-burst — a common cause of misfiled exhibits.

Spot-check 300 DPI minimum, full-page capture (no clipped headers), and that OCR text is searchable. Hand-signed signature pages and carbon-copy forms are the usual OCR-failure cases — re-scan rather than file an unsearchable PDF.

Follow the firm standard — typically YYYY-MM-DD_MatterNumber_DocType_ShortDescription_v##. Versioning matters for redlines and drafts; never overwrite a signed final.

In NetDocuments or iManage, fill all required profile fields: client, matter, document type, author, and confidentiality tier from the intake step. Unprofiled documents won't surface in matter-level searches and effectively disappear.

Use the firm's matter template: Pleadings, Discovery, Correspondence, Research, Drafts, Final Executed, Billing, Trust. Don't invent new top-level folders inside an existing matter — it breaks DMS reporting and matter-template audits.

Originals required: wet-signed wills, recorded deeds, notarized affidavits, original promissory notes, apostilled documents, and anything where a court or recorder requires the physical instrument. Everything else can be digital-only per firm policy.

Label format: client name, matter number, matter name, opening date, and responsible attorney. For wills and original instruments, add a red "ORIGINAL — DO NOT DESTROY" sticker and log to the originals register.

Sensitive matters (family, criminal, immigration, restricted-access) go in the locked cabinet, not the open shelves. Update the file location field in the PMS so the next person doesn't waste 20 minutes hunting.

Restrict to the matter team plus billing and conflicts. Default-open access on a sensitive matter is a Rule 1.6 problem — even firm-wide "anyone can view" violates the reasonable-safeguards standard for restricted categories.

Required when a lateral attorney has a conflict under Rule 1.9/1.10 imputation, or when the firm represents both sides of a transaction with consent. Configure the wall in the DMS, capture signed acknowledgments from screened personnel, and document the screen in the conflicts file.

Pull the DMS permissions report and remove departed staff, summer associates whose engagement ended, and contract attorneys who rolled off. Stale access is the leading cause of post-departure data exposure incidents.

State bar minimums commonly run 5–7 years post-close. Trust / IOLTA records typically 7+ years. Estate planning, real estate, and minors' matters often longer or indefinite. Tag the destruction-eligible date on intake — don't wait until close to figure it out.

Cross-reference the firm's active hold list before any destruction action. Destroying material under a preservation obligation is spoliation — adverse inference, sanctions, and potential bar referral. When in doubt, defer destruction and escalate to the records partner.

For documents cleared for destruction, capture matter, document description, destruction method (cross-cut shred / certified vendor / DMS purge), date, and two signatures. Bar audits ask for this log; "we destroyed it" without a record is functionally identical to "we lost it."

Pull the DMS report for unprofiled documents, documents not tied to a matter, and matters with zero filings in 90 days. Triage with the responsible attorney before quarter-end.

Quarterly 30-minute refresher for legal assistants, paralegals, and new associates. Cover naming conventions, profiling fields, the originals register, and the most common misfile patterns from the prior quarter's audit.