SBAND PRESIDENT
SLOWING DOWN AND SIMPLIFYING
TO IMPROVE THE PRACTICE OF LAW
DARCIE EINARSON
SBAND President
As I looked around the room at SBAND’s
recent annual meeting, I appreciated the
representation of many generations of
lawyers. Two lawyers received their 60-year
service awards, and there were a number of
young lawyers present as well.
I’m right in the middle.
It strikes me how much things have changed
in the practice of law since I started. Even in
a traditional occupation, such as ours, we are
forced to change with the times.
I did learn legal research online in law school
before Google and before the internet. I was
proud of my IBM computer with two 5 1/2
inch floppy disks and my tortoise-paced,
dial-up internet connection to Lexis and
Westlaw...it was very cutting edge. Many of
my law school predecessors did not have this
advantage.
When I began practicing, none of the
lawyers at my firm had a computer on their
desk. Research was performed with big,
impressive books; pleadings were dictated.
Clients came into the office for personal
visits or called for legal advice. I long for
those days.
Things were slower, more cordial, and more
thoughtful. Clients and opposing counsel
2
THE GAVEL
were more patient. We valued nice stationary,
heavy stock paper, and personal connections.
While we can’t entirely return to that time,
we may be able to slow the hectic pace a bit.
The pace isn’t helped by the number of
emails attorneys receive. They flood our
inboxes from clients, other lawyers, the
Court, and pretty much everyone else. In
order to help with the hectic pace, I’d like to
suggest 10 ways to help with the number of
emails we all receive. If I can help in some
way as your president, I will consider it a
success. So, here are “Darcie’s Top 10 Rules
of Email Etiquette.”
1. Treat email like a letter and not like
a text message. Just because you get the
correspondence instantaneously does not
mean you need to respond immediately. Read
it carefully, discuss it with your client, and
then respond fully.
2. It is not necessary to copy everyone. If
you want to copy your client or others in
your office, feel free, but there isn’t any reason
to randomly include another attorney’s staff.
Also, it isn’t necessary to send a reply to
others, unless asked. I don’t copy opposing
counsel’s client, even if they copied them on
the email to me.
3. No need to acknowledge receipt. There is
no need to respond with, “I will review this
with my client and get back to you.” I expect
that you will. I will give you adequate time to
forward it, allow them time to read it, discuss
it with you, and put together a complete and
thoughtful response.
4. Forget the manners. We’d all get fewer
emails if we didn’t get a reply saying “Thank
you” or “Have a good day.”
5. Use “Reply to All” sparingly.
6. If an email were treated like a letter,
the quality of the reply would be more
important than how quickly the response is
provided. Slow down, and see Rule 1.
7. Provide the other side adequate time to
respond, especially on non-urgent matters
(say, a few days). The more difficult the
issue, the more time you should provide your
colleague to address it with their client and
provide decent feedback.
8. Correspondence between lawyers is not
evidence. Emails should not be marked as
exhibits and presented to the court.
9. Use emails as exhibits only sparingly. Live
testimony or affidavit testimony does not
usually require these attachments. Consider
using requests for admissions or the use of
these items for impeachment instead.
10. Don’t forget that the phone still works.
Use it when it’s appropriate.
These are suggestions I believe would reduce
the volume of emails we each get in a day.
Giving the appropriate time to another
lawyer to allow a thoughtful response is good
for everyone involved. Hopefully, these rules
of a “kinder and gentler time” will provide a
better practice of law, while still allowing us
to enjoy the benefits of modern technology.