General Counsel Retention Schedule

BGSU Schedule of Records Retention

Office: General Counsel

In accordance with ORC Section 149.33 and Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees, a schedule for Records Retention and Disposition for the following records is hereby established. This schedule supersedes any and all previous schedules for these records. The records covered by this schedule, upon expiration of the listed retention periods, shall be destroyed unless otherwise specified. No record shall be destroyed, however, that pertains to any pending claim, action, litigation, or request.

Approvals:

Department Official: Signed
Date: 09/13/2017

Records Manager: Signed
Date: 09/18/2017

Notes:

A Certificate of Records Disposal (CRD) should be prepared prior to the disposal of any records listed on this schedule and retained by the office/department for 10 years after the date of disposal. A copy of the CRD should also be sent to the University Records Manager. Confidential paper records must be disposed of through shredding with the University’s approved shredding vendor.
University records include all information, regardless of format (paper, electronic, microform, etc.), created or received by a university office that documents the functions, policies, procedures, decisions, operations or other activities of the office. Retention periods apply to all records regardless of format.
The University Archives will only collect those record series listed on the attached schedule as transferrable to the Archives that at its discretion have continuing historical value. Other historic items listed on the attached schedule or on the university’s General Retention Schedule may also be collected, at the discretion of the Archives.
Storage of inactive/non-permanent records is available at the University Records Center.
Other common records that may not be listed on this schedule may be on the university's General Retention Schedule; offices may use retentions listed on the General Retention Schedule for records not listed on their departmental schedule.

Schedule Number	Record Series Title	Main Format(s)	Minimum Retention Period	End of Retention Period Action	Schedule Source 1
General Counsel
102-1	Agency Claims: Records related to the preparation of documents required by law; includes reporting and filings with agencies such as IRS, OSHA, EEOC	Paper/Electronic	Active + 6 years	Destroy	IUC LEG 5001; IUC LEG4000
102-2	Business Matters Documentation relating to the review of contracts between clients and third parties to ensure the terms of contract and protect/defend the client should a breach of contract accusation occur. Also includes records related to compliance or performance of contracts, including determination of costs, performance of services, payments, work products delivered, etc. [official copy of contract stays with originating office; these files contain work product that could be used for legal defense]	Paper/Electronic	Active + 8 years	Destroy	LEG2000
102-3	Criminal Matters: Case Files - Death Related, Missing Person, and CODIS-entered DNA cases	Paper/Electronic	125 years [unless microfilmed; then can destroy once microfilmed]	Destroy	BCI-ADM-25 [AG Bureau of Criminal Investigation Schedule]
102-4	Criminal Matters: Case Files - Serious Offenses (Non-Death)	Paper/ Electronic	50 years [unless microfilmed; then can destroy once microfilmed]	Destroy	BCI-ADM-23
102-5	Criminal Matters: Case Files - Misdemeanors and Low-Level Offenses	Paper/ Electronic	15 years	Destroy	BCI-ADM-26
102-6	Employee Matters - General	Paper/ Electronic	Active + 6 years	Destroy	IUC LEG 4000
102-7	Employee Matters - Grievances including correspondence, working papers, hearing records, final disposition, papers for grievances and/or hearings both pending and completed, filed by employees	Paper/ Electronic	Active + 6 years	Destroy	IUC LEG 4000
102-8	Ethics Matters: Documents ethics questions posed to the office of General Counsel and the advice given	Paper/ Electronic	5 years	Destroy	86-OAG-31
102-9	Faculty Matters: can include but not limited to grievance forms, responses, settlement agreements, arbitration awards, and memos of understanding. Submitted when an employee believes that a violation of a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") has occurred	Paper/ Electronic	30 years because only source of information to establish "past practice" in interpreting CBAs; no statue of limitations on disputes involving CBAs	Destroy	567-OAG-60
102-10	Intellectual Property Files: Files that allow the Office of General Counsel to enforce licensing rights, limit liabilities and ensure compensation. Files can include, but are not limited to, request for legal service, licensing agreement, correspondence, work product, record of transacted obligations, termination, extension or modification of license Copyright, Patent and Trademark - records related to preparatation, filing, maintenance and rights	Paper/ Electronic	3 years after expiration, termination or cancellation of license Active + 6 years	Destroy after review for continuing historical value	057-OAG-34 IUC LEG5020 IUC LEG7000
102-11	Legal Opinions - Written opinions regarding the application of the law in a specific situation prepared at the request of a BGSU official to address an issue arising in the course of their official duties	Paper/ Electronic	Active + 10 years	Destroy	IUC LEG6010
102-12	Litigation: Records related to threatened or actual litigation. Includes pleadings, discovery, attorney work-products, legal opinions, transcripts, exhibits, final judgments, and investigative reports	Paper/ Electronic	Active + 10 years	Destroy	IUC LEG4001
102-13	Public Records Requests: Documents pertaining to public records requests, including but not limited to the original request, correspondence between staff and the requestor or other staff, and redacted and unredacted responsive records	Paper/ Electronic	3 years	Destroy	OW-AGO-01 IUC LEG9000
102-14	Real Property Records: Appraisals, encumbrances, fund transfers, plans, resolutions, General Counsel opinions, contracts and any other original documents relating to the acquisition of real property by Bowling Green State University; opinions written at any time that a piece of property is sold or purchased which serve to determine who holds claims to the property and any encumbrances	Paper/ Electronic	Permanent	Retain permanently	GEN-0697
102-15	Student Matters	Paper/ Electronic	Active + 3 years	Destroy	EDU1030
102-16	Third Party Matters: Includes but not limited to original request, related correspondence, research, response, and other records relating to third-party requests upon the agency	Paper/ Electronic	3 years UNLESS litigation hold; then retain until hold is lifted	Destroy	DEV-LEG-01 IUC-LEG9000

1 This retention schedule is based on the records retention schedule for the State of Ohio Attorney General and other State of Ohio departments. Series numbers listed as sources refer to that schedule.

Updated: 03/16/2026 10:18AM