The Reader, The Reader!
Be kind to readers: Remind them what you’re talking about.
I know, I know:
You’re working on just one case.
You’ve spent weeks thinking about it.
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So when you send an email, you naturally think that the reader remembers who you are, and what your case is about, and what happened in your case last week.
It ain’t so, Joe.
Help your reader!
Let’s start with names.
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Suppose the company has received SEC subpoenas for six different entities. You’re working on only one of them. You title your email, “SEC subpoena,” and never mention in your email the name of the entity involved.
Unless your reader knows which matter you’re working on, you’ve forced the reader to write back: “Which matter are you talking about?”
Not good.
Even if your reader remembers generally what you’re doing, your reader may not remember the precise name of the entity involved: “Shoot! I’m sure one of three businesses got the subpoena. Was it Silver, Gold, or Platinum?” Your reader has to rummage around through email files to figure out where to store your communication.
Don’t do that to your reader; remind your reader the name of the matter.
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So, too, with cases.
It doesn’t help to have an email about “Arkansas case” or “California employee.”
Which Arkansas case or California employee? I know you’re thinking about just one, but I’ve been working on many, many things since we last communicated. Just give me a hint: “BigCo (Arkansas case),” “Smith (California employee).” Presto! You’ve given me enough to at least know where to file your email after I’ve read it.
(I file basically everything. When you’re the head of litigation, you never know when you’ll be accused of destroying documents.
By the way, don’t send me emails that say, “Thank you.” I know that this came up at ATL a while back, and people thought a partner was a jerk for instructing people not to write back, “Thank you.” But I save all of my emails, to avoid later being accused of document destruction. I really don’t need your “thank you” notes cluttering up my files.
Thank you.)
Finally, the hard one: Confidential projects that have been given code names: Project Death Star. Project Tarantula. Project Killer Whale. (Ha! I just used evil-sounding names so I could link back to my earlier rant about how we should name projects only “Tinkerbell,” in case we ever have to put the project name in front of a jury.)
Do you know how many projects we have going on around here? I know you’ve been thinking entirely about Project Fairy Princess for the last month, but people contact me about all of the projects. Hearing the code name just doesn’t mean anything.
But I guess I have to live with that.
If we’re talking about Project Tinkerbell, and we’re concerned that the wrong people (who haven’t signed the non-disclosure agreement) will see our email, then we really can’t give our emails meaningful subject lines, like “Project Tinkerbell (Hoboken Waste Facility).” That defeats the whole purpose of using code names.
So I’ll have to live with that confusion (unless one of my readers emails me a solution).
But in every other situation, tell the reader what you’re talking about.
I’m really not a very busy guy.
But the important people in this joint are ferociously busy.
Be kind to them: Remind them what you’re talking about.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now responsible for litigation and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.