Confidentiality notices

As with faxes, emails sent by law firms invariably contain confidentiality notices, which are designed to provide for the possibility that an email may accidentally be sent to someone other than the intended recipient. As with faxes, the purpose of the confidentiality notice is:

—To alert the recipient to the fact that the
contents of the communication are
confidential.

—To make it clear that unauthorized recipients
may not disclose the information contained
in the communication.

—To request that if the fax is received in error
the sender should be notified.

Here is an example of a confidentiality notice:

The information contained in this email and in any attachments hereto is confidential It may also be leg ally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient(s) and access to it by any other person is unauthorized. If you are not a named recipient , you must not disclose, copy, circulate, or in any other way use or rely on the information contained in this email or in any attachments hereto. Such unauthorized use may be unlawful. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately.

Style

Email is a relatively recent development, and because it is perceived as a quick and informal means of communication, people are often unclear about the style and conventions they should use in business situations.

In legal work, while email correspondence may tend towards informality, it should follow the same general principles as any other form of business correspondence.

Here are some basic tips about style in emails:

—In general, email messages follow the style
and conventions used in letters or faxes. For
example, you can use salutations such as
Dear Mr Archer or Dear Gerald, and complimentary closes such as Yours sincerely. However, if you know the recipient well, or if you are exchanging a series of messages with one person, you may dispense with the salutation and complimentary close altogether.

—Make a clear mental division between personal messages and messages written in the course of legal work. In a message written in the course of legal work, the same rules of writing apply as for a letter: write clearly, concisely, pay attention to the
accuracy of factual information and legal advice given, and observe high standards of professional courtesy; consider audience, purpose, clarity, consistency, and tone.

—Use correct grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, as you would in any other form of correspondence.

—Do not write words in capital letters in an email message. This can be seen as the equivalent of shouting and therefore have a negative effect. If you want to stress a word, put asterisks on each side of it, e.g. *urgent*.

—Keep your email messages short and to the point. People often receive a lot of emails at work, so conciseness is especially important.

—In general, limit yourself to one topic per message. This helps to keep the message brief and makes it easier for the recipient to answer, file, and retrieve it later.

— Check your email message for mistakes before you send it, just as you would check a letter or a fax message.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1583