GARP[R] and its weight on the legal profession.

• Author: Isaza, John
• Position: Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles

The Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles[R], or GARP[R], is a set of eight principles published by ARMA International to "foster general awareness of recordkeeping standards and ... to assist organizations in developing record systems that comply with them." (See www.arma.org/garp/ for more information.) The principles set forth how an organization can ensure accountability, integrity, protection, compliance, availability, retention, disposition, and transparency in its recordkeeping and information governance program.

GARP[R]'s impact on the legal profession, including its guidelines for judges deciding spoliation in felony and serious misdemeanor convictions, is noteworthy. The GARP[R] Principles tie in closely with the American Bar Association's (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules), as well as the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual (Sentencing Guidelines). This article demonstrates how compliance with GARP[R] may help ensure compliance with rules guiding some professions, specifically like those imposed on lawyers and judges.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

GARP's[R] Relationship to the Model Rules

Pursuant to the ABA's goal of achieving the highest standards of professional competence and ethical conduct among attorneys, the ABA adopted the Model Rules, which "serve as models of the regulatory law governing the legal profession." (Read more at www.americanbar.org.) Every state has codified its own version of the Model Rules in one form or another. As noted below, lawyers who follow the GARP Principles will assure themselves and their clients of compliance with several sections of the Model Rules.

Client Requests for Information

Model Rule 1.4 (a)(4) requires a lawyer to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. The availability of information upon "reasonable requests" is thus a key component of compliance with Rule 1.4. The GARP[R] Principle of Availability requires an organization to maintain records in a manner that ensures timely, efficient, and accurate retrieval of needed information. A recordkeeping program that is readily available and understandable thus ensures compliance with Model Rule 1.4(a)(4).

Similarly, the GARP[R] Principle of Transparency requires that the processes and activities of an organization's recordkeeping program be documented in an understandable manner and that they be available to all personnel and appropriate interested parties. The Principle of Transparency also echoes the availability mandate of Model Rule 1.4.

Attorney-Client Privileged Communications

Model Rule 1.6 governs the client-lawyer relationship and the...