Colorado Court Rules
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct

Client-lawyer Relationship

As amended through Rule Change 2018(4), effective March 15, 2018

(a) A lawyer shall maintain, or shall cause the lawyer's law firm to maintain, in a current status and shall retain or cause the lawyer's law firm to retain for a period of seven years after the event that they record:

(1) An appropriate record-keeping system identifying each separate person for whom the lawyer or the law firm holds funds or other property and adequately showing the following:

(A) For each trust account the date and amount of each deposit; the name and address of each payor of the funds deposited; the name and address of each person for whom the funds are held and the amount held for the person; a description of the reason for each deposit; the date and amount of each charge against the trust account and a description of the charge; the date and amount of each disbursement; and the name and address of each person to whom the disbursement is made and the amount disbursed to the person.

(B) For each item of property other than funds, the nature of the property; the date of receipt of the property; the name and address of each person from whom the property is received, the name and address of each person for whom the property is held and, if interests in the property are held by more than one person, a statement of the nature and extent of each person's interest in the property, to the extent known; a description of the reason for each receipt; the date and amount of each charge against the property and a description of the charge; the date of each delivery of the property by the lawyer; and the name and address of each person to whom the property is delivered by the lawyer.

(C) For any unclaimed funds remitted to COLTAF pursuant to Rule 1.15B(k), the name and last known address of the owner of the funds, if the owner of the funds is known; the date of death of a deceased owner if the owner of the funds is known; the efforts made to identify or locate the owner of the funds or a deceased owner's heirs or personal representative; the amount of the funds remitted; the period of time during which the funds were held in the lawyer's or law firm's COLTAF account; and the date the funds were remitted.

(2) Appropriate records of all deposits in and withdrawals from all other bank accounts maintained in connection with the lawyer's legal services, specifically identifying the date, payor, and description of each item deposited as well as the date, payee, and purpose of each disbursement;

(3) Copies of all written communications setting forth the basis or rate for the fees charged by the lawyer as required by Rule 1.5(b), and copies of all writings, if any, stating other terms of engagement for legal services;

(4) Copies of all statements to clients and third persons showing the disbursement of funds or the delivery of property to them or on their behalves;

(5) Copies of all bills issued to clients;

(6) Records showing payments to any persons, not in the lawyer's regular employ, for services rendered or performed; and

(7) Paper copies or electronic copies of all bank statements and of all canceled checks.

(a) The records required by this Rule shall be maintained in accordance with one or more of the following recognized accounting methods: the accrual method, the cash basis method, or the income tax method. All such accounting methods shall be consistently applied. Bookkeeping records may be maintained by computer provided they otherwise comply with this Rule and provided further that printed copies can be made on demand in accordance with this Rule. They shall be located at the principal Colorado office of the lawyer or of the lawyer's law firm.

(b) Upon the dissolution of a law firm, the lawyers who rendered legal services through the law firm shall make appropriate arrangements for the maintenance or disposition of records and client files in accordance with this Rule and Rule 1.16A. Upon the departure of a lawyer from a law firm, the departing lawyer and the lawyers remaining in the law firm shall make appropriate arrangements for the maintenance or disposition of records and client files in accordance with this Rule and Rule 1.16A.

(c) Any of the records required to be kept by this Rule shall be produced in response to a subpoena duces tecum issued by the Regulation Counsel in connection with proceedings pursuant to C.R.C.P. 251. When so produced, all such records shall remain confidential except for the purposes of the particular proceeding, and their contents shall not be disclosed by anyone in such a way as to violate the attorney-client privilege of the lawyer's client.

Cite as RPC 1.15D

History. Rule 1.15 Repealed and Readopted by the Court, En Banc, June 17, 2014, effective immediately; amended November 3, 2016, effective immediately.

Note:

See comments following Rule 1.15A.