--- title: Document Scanning and Records Retention Requirements for Law Firms description: Due to various acts and bylaws focused on record retention, legal professionals quickly find themselves surrounded by paper. image: https://blog.octacom.ca/hubfs/Document%20Scanning%20and%20Records%20Retension%20Requirements%20for%20Law%20Firms.png --- # Document Scanning and Records Retention Requirements for Law Firms June 15, 2022 [By Octacom](https://blog.octacom.ca/author/octacom) ![Document Scanning and Records Retention Requirements for Law Firms](https://blog.octacom.ca/hubfs/Document%20Scanning%20and%20Records%20Retension%20Requirements%20for%20Law%20Firms.png) Share [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.octacom.ca%2Fdocument_scanning_and_records_retention_requirements_for_law_firms%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.octacom.ca%2Fdocument_scanning_and_records_retention_requirements_for_law_firms%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.octacom.ca%2Fdocument_scanning_and_records_retention_requirements_for_law_firms%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.octacom.ca%2Fdocument_scanning_and_records_retention_requirements_for_law_firms%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Document%20Scanning%20and%20Records%20Retention%20Requirements%20for%20Law%20Firms) Through its extensive and comprehensive approach, the legal industry often necessitates copious mountains of paper usage. Due to various acts and bylaws focused on record retention, legal professionals quickly find themselves surrounded by paper. For example, notable instances within the Law Society of Upper Canada requirements are Bylaw 9; Section 23(1) and Section 23(2), which require certain documents to be kept for a minimum of 6 and 10 years respectively. Further, the *Income Tax Act* demands that at least the previous 6 years of documents are maintained. This rapidly becomes problematic for several reasons. ![diamond-color](https://blog.octacom.ca/hubfs/SBM-Icons/diamond-color.svg) First, if the paper is kept on-site, it is using valuable square footage that could be utilized in a better form. If the documents are kept off-site, hefty storage costs arise. Associated with that, shipping the documents when needed is an additional expensive process. ![diamond-color](https://blog.octacom.ca/hubfs/SBM-Icons/diamond-color.svg) Second, paper files assorted in boxes are largely inconvenient and difficult to access. This is unacceptable, given documents must be ‘readily accessible’ and able to be produced in 30 days. [Eugene Cipparone](http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/author/sandra-shutt/law-firms-need-document-retention-policies-too-1776), a director of professional support at Goodmans LLP, disclosed that Goodmans has paper files dating back to the 1960s in an offsite storage facility, undoubtedly a needlessly expensive and inefficient method of storage. Octacom provides outsourced and efficient [document scanning and imaging](https://www.octacom.ca/document-scanning) services providing the following advantages: - Reduce storage costs - Eliminate courier costs for file retrievals - Decrease turnaround times on sourcing legal records by increasing file accessibility - Improve document security By utilizing Octacom’s customer-centric document scanning and imaging services and its [Odiss software](https://www.octacom.ca/odiss-software), law firms (legal professionals) can rapidly recognize the massive cost and efficiency benefits. Octacom has worked with many law firms providing document scanning and imaging solutions. [Contact us](https://www.octacom.ca/contact-us) to learn more! --- > Octacom is a SOC 2, Type II Audited enterprise software and services company focused on document and data automation solutions, including automated data capture. Founded in 1976, Octacom specializes in accounts payable automation and automated invoice processing, among other digital / automated business process outsourcing services.  > > If your organization is looking to learn more about our solutions and services, please [contact us](https://octacom-3444764.hs-sites.com/contact-us) and we would be glad to help.   ## Stay Connected! Sign up to receive updates about Octacom [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/octacom-limited) [** ](https://www.facebook.com/Octacom-Ltd-906777192783372/) [** ](https://vimeo.com/user65146097) [** ](https://twitter.com/octacom) ## Related Blog Articles [ ### Digital Transformation The Benefits of an Electronic Medical Record System ](https://blog.octacom.ca/the_benefits_of_an_electronic_medical_record_system) [ ### Digital Transformation Ontario Vendor of Record for Digitization Services: What Does it Mean? ](https://blog.octacom.ca/ontario-vendor-of-record-for-digitization-services) [ ### Digital Transformation OCR & Searchable PDFs: Advancing Rapid Document Retrieval in Law Firms ](https://blog.octacom.ca/advancing-rapid-document-retrieval-in-law-firms) [See All Articles](https://blog.octacom.ca/blog) ## Schedule a consultation to learn how to streamline, automate, and eliminate business process inefficiencies. [![Logo + Lockup](https://blog.octacom.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo%20+%20Lockup.png?width=8144&height=2564&name=Logo%20+%20Lockup.png "Logo + Lockup")](https://octacom.ca) Intelligent Process Automation [**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/octacom-limited) [**](https://www.facebook.com/Octacom-Ltd-906777192783372/) [**](https://vimeo.com/user65146097) [**](https://twitter.com/octacom) ### Subscribe to our blog ©2026, Octacom Limited. All Rights Reserved ** [ Privacy Policy ](https://www.octacom.ca/privacy-legal-policy/) ** [ Terms of Use ](https://www.octacom.ca/website-terms-use/) ** [ Accessibility Policy & Plan ](https://www.octacom.ca/accessibility)