Comment from Jarvis, Craig, Biggam Fox & Skinner

The regulations changing the responsibilities of representatives now require that representatives keep original copies of documents in a paper file. However, they do not specify the period of time during which these documents must be kept. As a matter of practice, my firm does maintain a paper file for all cases during our representaton, which would have the original copy of any documents sent to Social Security by electronic means. However, at the end of our representation, our paper files are then scanned for electronic storage and all paper documents are then shredded and discarded. As a law firm we have a professional obligation to maintain copies of our files for a period of time. However, the cost of storing a paper file is much greater than scanning the files for electronic storage. This is especially true for a practice like Social Security where the files are often large, and the practitioner must do a substantial volume of work to make the practice viable. If Social Security is going to require representatives to keep original documents, then I suggests that this requirement should only last for the period of the representation. Once the representative withdraws, or the claim has been approved and the representative paid, then the representative's obligation should cease. If the Administration wants original documents to be maintained for longer than this, then I think that the Administration should be the repository for the original documents.