Welcome!

Taming the Email Monster:

The Lawyer’s Guide to Getting and Staying in Control of EmailInPractice CT, May 2, 2013

Bill JawitzDoug Brown

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Resources

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Email volume increases

• Business email volume increasing by 13% a year

• Personal email declining by 7% (More people using FB, LI)

Time Spent on Email

2405012,000224,000

Forty 10-hour days per year400

hrs

Taking Control

4 Key Strategies1. Reduce Volume2. Increase Quality3. Manage & Organize4. Teach Others

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REDUCE EMAIL VOLUME1. Send less to get less2. Use filters and unsubscribe3. Use separate business and

personal email addresses4. Educate top offenders5. Dispense with internal “nicety”

emails

1st Key Strategy

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• Why are you sending THAT message?

• Does the recipient need it? (minimize cc’s)

• Is email the best medium?• Assess last 50 sent emails

Send Less Email

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IMPROVE EMAIL QUALITY1. Better subject lines2. Better body content

2nd Key Strategy

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• Be descriptive and specific• Change subject line instead of re-

using an old email • Use suffixes and prefixes

Quality Subject Lines

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Subject Specificity

• “My follow-up from today’s call re: Jones v. Barnes strategy”

• “A quick question about your Smith deposition prep memo”

• “Need to settle on a date for our presentation”

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• Categories:– Action Needed– Information– Request– Confirmed– Delivery

ACTION NEEDED: Schedule Jones deposition for next weekDELIVERED: Baker summary judgment motion for your review

Subject Line Prefix

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EOM (End of message)

NRN (No reply needed)

NTN (No thanks needed)

Subject Line Suffix

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1 subject per message Main points at top 1 thought per paragraph Line breaks Use bullets

Better Body Content

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Clean email body

1. Greeting

2. Action Needed

3. Context

4. Attachments

5. Conclusion

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Example

GOODSubject: INFO - Reminder of 10am Meeting on 12.5 on the new doc management software.

Hi Jim,

We are meeting on Monday, December 5, at 10:00am in conference room A. We'll be discussing firm-wide requirements for use of the new HOTDOCS system. Please bring a first draft of the guidelines you want to include for your department.

If you have any questions, call me at extension 3024.Mark

BADSubject: Meeting

Hi Jim,I just wanted to remind you about the meeting we have scheduled next week. Do let me know if you have any questions!Best wishes,Mark

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MANAGE & ORGANIZE• Use three email accounts (work,

personal, commerce)• Turn off all email alerts

3rd Key Strategy

Cost of Interruptions

151116582541,250

$128,625

687 hrs/2 = 343

$375/hr

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MANAGE & ORGANIZE• Use three email accounts (work,

personal, commerce)• Turn off all email alerts

Managing & Organizing

• Check email only 3 or 4 times a day

• Set an inbox threshold that triggers cleanup

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Managing & Organizing

MANAGE & ORGANIZE• Use templates• Master the preview pane• Get comfortable archiving• Use and train your Spam filters• Schedule time for weekly cleanup

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Daily/Weekly Process

Toss Refer Act File

Delete Do Delegate Defer

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Managing & Organizing

MANAGE & ORGANIZE• Unsubscribe and block senders• Master your View settings• Use YouTube to find instructions• Use a good IT person to optimize

and sync your devices• Learn and use rules

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3rd Key Strategy

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3rd Key Strategy

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3rd Key Strategy

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TEACH OTHERS• Identify top offenders (volume and

quality)• Model improved email

effectiveness• Provide resources• Be specific• Propose incremental change

4th Key Strategy

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“If you’re OK with it, Alan, I propose we

dispense with opening and closings

when emailing.  It can take some getting

used to, but I find it does save time.  

Let me know (I surely don’t want to

offend . . . )” 

The Talk

More Info & Consults

• Email or call with specific questions• Contact info on our biz cards• Email Consult • JumpStart Consult

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Resources

Complete the Resources Request Form to receive two docs and today’s PPT