Legal Matter Closing Checklist Template

Owned by the fee earner. Scope questions: which rules apply (England & Wales / US), does the firm hold client money on this matter (Yes/No), is the matter ending before the work is complete (Yes/No).

• Name the fee earner, supervising partner and cashier — later tasks are assigned from these three fields
• Answer the scope questions — which jurisdiction’s rules apply, whether the firm holds client money, and whether the matter is ending before the work is complete
• Check the work against the retainer — every instruction in the engagement letter carried out, or recorded as not done and why
• Clear court and tribunal deadlines — no hearing, filing, order or costs step left in the firm’s diary for this matter
• Confirm undertakings are discharged — each one given or received, with evidence it was met or formally released
• Record the dates the client must act on — limitation, appeal, renewal, option and review dates that fall after closing

These tasks are shown only when “Is the matter ending before the work is complete?” is Yes, whether the client terminated or the firm withdrew.

• Record who ended the retainer and why — the client or the firm, the date and the ground, kept factual
• Come off the record in any proceedings — England & Wales: notice of change or an order that you have ceased to act under CPR Part 42; US: the tribunal’s rules on notice or permission to withdraw
• Give the client time to instruct new lawyers — with the next deadlines set out in writing, so the client is not left exposed
• Transfer the file on the client’s written authority — to the new firm, keeping a copy for the firm’s own protection
• Refund unearned fees and unspent payments on account — anything paid in advance and not yet earned or spent

The approval is assigned from the cashier field and halts the checklist until Approved. No client money moves before it.

• Post all time and disbursements — then stop further time being recorded on the matter
• Compare the total with the estimate — explain any overrun before the client sees the bill
• Decide write-offs — amount, reason and who agreed it, within the firm’s authority limits
• Cashier approval of the final bill and client account position — bill, write-offs and any balance to return agreed before money moves
• Send the final bill with a statement of account — in England & Wales the bill or written notice of costs must go before client money is taken for costs

These tasks are shown only when “Does the firm hold client money on this matter?” is Yes. Assigned to the cashier.

• Reconcile the matter ledger — every receipt and payment accounted for, with no debit balance
• Take costs only as billed — the sum on the bill, from money held for this client
• Return the balance promptly — to the client, or the third party it is held for, once there is no proper reason to keep it
• Trace the client if the money comes back — record every attempt
• Deal with a balance you cannot return — England & Wales: the SRA’s residual balance rules; US: your state’s trust account and unclaimed property rules
• Confirm the ledger is at nil — attach the final ledger

Owned by the fee earner. The letter ends the retainer, so it goes before the file is archived.

• Send the closing letter — confirms the matter is closed and the retainer has ended, and from which date
• Say what the firm will not do after closing — monitor deadlines or update the advice if the law changes, unless instructed again
• List the dates the client now owns — the limitation, appeal and renewal dates from Phase 1, in the letter itself
• Return original documents and property — wills, deeds, certificates and other originals, against a signed receipt, or record where they are held
• Explain how long the file is kept — the retention period, how to ask for a copy and when it will be destroyed

The AML records task is shown only when the rules chosen are England & Wales; the trust records task only when they are US.

• Mark the client and matter as closed in the conflicts database — as a former client, not deleted, because former clients still count
• Review the file for completeness — final versions, advice letters and attendance notes on file
• Separate what belongs to the client — originals and final documents from working papers and internal notes that belong to the firm
• Set the retention period and diarise destruction — from the firm’s policy for this matter type, with the destruction date recorded
• Keep AML records for five years after the relationship ends — where the matter was within the Money Laundering Regulations 2017
• Keep trust account records for the period your state requires — the ABA Model Rule suggests five years after the representation ends
• Archive the file with access restricted — read-only, and only for the people who need it

File closure is an approval assigned from the supervising partner field. The checklist halts until it is Approved.

• Capture know-how — precedents, clause wording and useful expert contacts, with client details removed
• Ask the client for feedback — a short survey or call, logged against the matter
• Hold a short matter review — what went well, what to change, and any risk issue to report
• Supervising partner approval of file closure — every phase complete, with the bill, ledger and letter attached
• Close the matter in the case management system — so no further time or payments can be posted to it