Email has long been the communication method of choice for lawyers. While chat has begun to make inroads, the vast majority of most lawyers’ communications — both internally and to the outside world — are via email. Lawyers use email heavily, irrespective of what kind of law they practice, or the type of organization they practice their law in. I have previously provided some tips for crafting good emails, and stressed how important it is to respect your reader by looking for ways to give them the information needed with as little burden as possible.
In that column, I gave admittedly short shrift to the topic of email attachments. In fact, my entire discussion of that subject matter was: “if you promise an attachment, please include it. That’s it on that one. Failure to do so shows carelessness.” While I still agree with myself, and believe that failing to include a promised email attachment is bad, I also think there is more to consider on the topic of email attachments. Before I get to that, it is best to preemptively respond to those who would say (strawman, anyone) that neglecting to include a promised attachment is not a big deal. Because at least in the legal profession, it is.
I concede that you may not care too much when your cousin in Minnesota forgets to attach pictures, like of her kids making snow angels, in her weekly update email to the entire extended family. But consider how you would feel if you just paid an obscene amount of money to a ticket broker for those Taylor Swift tickets that your teenage daughter insists would be the greatest present ever, only to realize that the confirmation email didn’t include the promised PDFs of the actual tickets. Even though you would get the tickets resent with just another call or email to the broker, you would be annoyed, and likely begin to seriously doubt the professionalism of the business you just dealt with. Clients paying you hundreds of dollars an hour feel the same way when you waste their time with careless mistakes. Sending an email without a referenced attachment qualifies as a careless mistake.
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In our competitive profession, there really is not a lot of room for such kinds of mistakes. Will neglecting to include an attachment get you fired as an associate, even if you are forced to deal with the most demanding partner imaginable? Probably not. But it will dent your reputation, especially if it occurs frequently or overlaps with other demonstrations of carelessness. You need every ounce of equity you earn in this business. Trading that equity in, even in small measure, to cover for careless mistakes is just not worth it.
Thankfully, I have noticed that my current version of Outlook will actually prompt me in the event my email references an attachment and one is not actually attached. It’s a handy feature, and will probably save me at some point from a careless error. At the same time, when your email client reminds you not to forget an attachment and you do it anyway, it looks even worse.
As professionals, however, we need to strive to a higher standard that just one of avoiding careless mistakes. Keeping with the theme of making your emails useful to your reader, it is important to be thoughtful about your use of attachments in the first place. As an initial matter, it is always worthwhile to consider whether to include an attachment in the first place. For example, if I were working on a settlement agreement, and was emailing the client, I would be considerate about whether to attach a full draft at every stage of the negotiation. Because sometimes just excerpting the clause I need them to focus on at the moment is enough. So why burden them with an attachment that they may feel compelled to open and spend time looking through?
I am assuming of course that you are already avoiding the mindless practice of including attachments to emails without guiding the reader to the parts of the attachment that need attention. No attachment should ever be included without clear directions to the email recipient of what you expect them to do with the attachment. If it is an attached document that needs a signature, say so. Better yet, confirm that it is the final version that includes all of the client’s requested changes and is ready for signature. If you want your reader to skim the whole thing, then say so. Likewise if they are being asked to focus on particular pieces of the attachment.
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In the latter case, it may also make sense to quote the key parts of the attachment in the body of the email — epecially if you can keep it short. As I mentioned above, if you want the client or adversary to focus on one particular clause or point of negotiation, you may be able to forego including the attachment on that particular email in the first place. Additionally, it is also important to consider whether or not your reader may need an additional attachment to make sense of the document you are attaching for their review. For example, if I send someone a draft answer to review, it is important to also send a copy of the complaint that I am responding to. Same story if I am sending along discovery responses — it is best to save the reader time and also attach the discovery requests the responses are addressed to.
Ultimately, being thoughtful about what you attach to your emails is another way of showing respect for your reader — including respect for their time. Sure, they can dig up a copy of the complaint when you send them a draft answer in a case. But why should they need to? While no one will stand up and cheer when you handle attachments perfectly on a particular email, over time the attention to detail demonstrated will pay off. Respect the time of others, and they are likely to respect you.
Earlier: Beyond Biglaw: 4 Tips For Writing Good Emails
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique. The firm’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.