Decide if Email is Best
Writing and sending email is an everyday occurrence for law students and lawyers . However , there may be situations where email is not the best method of communication . Email is likely best for administrative matters like scheduling and providing updates to colleagues , clients , or the court . 16 But email is likely not ideal if the communication required involves difficult or emotional topics . 17 Lawyers often prefer email correspondence because it is quick and provides a permanent record of the message . 18 Yet lawyers should always take a moment to reflect on how effectively an email conveys the message versus a personal phone call or conversation . 19
Stop and Think Before Sending
Wait 24 hours . We always share this golden rule with our students during our class session on lawyer email etiquette . The 24-hour email rule applies to sending a response to any email message that inspires an emotional reaction or an email that conveys difficult or disagreeable information . Of course , there may be circumstances , exigent or otherwise , where waiting 24 hours is not possible . In those cases , even a one-hour delay can be enough time to consider if an email effectively communicates its substantive message professionally . During the waiting period , attorneys should think about : ( 1 ) if the email contains information they would say to the person ’ s face ; ( 2 ) how they would feel if they received the message ; and ( 3 ) how they would feel if the email message became an exhibit
in court or was published in a well-read media source . 20 Some time and reflection can quell the temptation to respond immediately and unprofessionally to a rude email from a colleague or client .
Email is an integral part of our profession . Law students and lawyers should treat email with the same care and professionalism their legal briefs receive to ensure their reputation and that of their employer and client remain intact .
1 . Meredith A . G . Strange , ‘ Yo , Prof !’ Is Not the Proper Way to Address Me : Using a Status Email Assignment in First-Year Legal Writing to Address Issues with Student Correspondence , THE LEARNING CURVE , Summer 2016 , https :// papers . ssrn . com / sol3 / papers . cfm ? abstract _ id = 5004983 . 2 . Christine Coughlin , Joan Malmud Rocklin & Sandy Patrick , A Lawyer Writes ( 4th ed . 2024 ). 3 . Id . at 333 . 4 . Id . at 334 . 5 . Id . at 343 . 6 . Id . 7 . Id . 8 . Id . at 344 . 9 . Id . 10 . Id . 11 . Id . 12 . In my humble opinion . 13 . For what it ’ s worth . 14 . Rolling on the floor laughing . 15 . Id . at 345-46 . 16 . Id . at 334 . 17 . Id . 18 . Id . 19 . Id . 20 . Id . at 344 .
“ Thanks again for the superb job you did . It was really a great service to the parties to get this behind them . I hadn ’ t thought it was possible .”
Stephen Rufer , Fergus Falls , MN
Uniquely qualified neutral
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