Don’t Use Background Themes Or Wallpaper
Nothing screams “I have no mastery of email, I just like pretty things” better than background themes or wallpaper in email. Having a nice pretty background on your email does nothing to show your prowess as a skilled litigator and legal technology innovator. It just shows you like pretty things… and clogging up other people’s inbox limits with worthless attachments.
Yes, worthless attachments because don’t forget, that pretty email background comes through as an attachment which means not only is your email larger than it needs to be, but the email also has an extra paperclip attachment which will befuddled the recipient endlessly as they click the important email attachment from their big time lawyer only to find the file is a download of pretty flowers.
Don’t Forget To Include Matter Numbers And Titles In The Subject Line
Organizing your email is all about the search. To search emails quickly and efficiently, include the full Matter / Case Number and Title in the email subject line. GoMatters will take care of this for you by pre-formatting an email when you click a contact email address from the Matters app.
You would include the full Matter / Case Number in the Re: clause of a letter, wouldn’t you? It only makes sense to do it in an email, too. Which is easier to find by an email search in “2010-011A Jones v. Jones, Deposition Schedule”, “2010-011A” or “Deposition Schedule”. Searching by matter number will deliver all emails ever sent or received in the case. Searching by “Deposition Schedule” will do nothing for you that you can really use because you will have to sift through the search results further to find your matter. Just make it force of habit: email subject line = “Matter Number -> Matter Title -> Topic”.
Don’t Forget Formality With Your Email
Somewhere along the technological evolutionary curve, the business world began to associate email as being less formal than older alternative forms of business communication. Your email should maintain the same formality as an other communication sent from your office. You are representing your client in a professional capacity. It might be difficult to explain to your client an email to opposing counsel in a hotly contested matter that starts out with “Dude…”.