E-mail can be a godsend for attorneys. E-mail messages offer attorneys the benefits of time efficiency and convenience. With e-mail, attorneys can quickly communicate with clients and colleagues without the need for a physical meeting or phone call. E-mails can also be sent and received at any time, allowing attorneys to work outside of traditional business hours. Additionally, e-mails provide a written record of communication that can be easily referenced in the future. Many benefits can be weighed down by unintended consequences.

It is important to set boundaries and expectations with your clients from the start. That does not mean we don't work nights and weekends. After a long day or long week, it's great to clear out your e-mail inbox after dinner or a Saturday afternoon. When clients and colleagues get e-mails at any hour on any day, it creates the expectation that we are available all day, all week. I don't think we really want this, as we are entitled to some personal time.

To help keep the illusion that I don't work 24/7, I use a program called Mailbutler (Mac and Windows and can be used in Outlook, G-Mail, and Apple Mail).  It allows me to write e-mails and then schedule them to send later, e.g., the next workday. There are many similar programs like this, and many of the e-mail client programs are beginning to bake this into the software. (Just be careful you don't have to keep the program open in order for the send later function to work!)

Granted, e-mail has become a preferred method of communication for attorneys due to the expectations of our clients and colleagues, but it does not mean you cannot limit expectations while getting some work done behind the scenes!         

MTC.

Happy Lawyering!!!