Ahhh, e-mail. To some it's a gift from the gods, to others it's the devil's tool. If you and your attorney both have e-mail, get his address and by all means give him yours! Why in the world would you want to send "snail-mail" if you could send e-mail? (Well, maybe you're a masochist or just not real bright, but those are about the only two answers I could come up with.)

E-mail is faster, cheaper, more secure and stands a better chance of getting through than anything the U.S. Postal Service can offer. (No offense, guys.) You can attach documents to your e-mail, archive it away for safe keeping, spell-check it, print it out, forward it and make copies of it. It's also time-and-date "stamped", which can become very important depending upon circumstances.

Save all your e-mail correspondence to and from your attorney unless he directs you otherwise. It's also a good idea to print it out as you get it and file it in a secure place for easy reference.

Follow the same general guidelines with e-mail as with phones and FAXes- summarize your communication, send regular periodic updates and don't inundate his mailbox with material that isn't relevant to your case (like forwarded junk from "humor" lists, etc.).

If your attorney doesn't have e-mail, urge him to get it. A surprisingly large number of attorneys still don't have e-mail. Sometimes they just aren't aware of the benefits. An e-mail account is only about $20.00 a month and normally includes Internet access- that's a small price to pay for what he'll get. Talk with your attorney about it and explain the benefits of e-mail.

Next Section
Home