header-logo header-logo

You’ve got (too much) mail

27 September 2024 / Elizabeth Rimmer
Issue: 8087 / Categories: Features , Profession , Career focus
printer mail-detail
190796
Drowning in emails? Elizabeth Rimmer provides tips for keeping your inbox under control

Managing your inbox can feel like a full-time job. The never-ending stream of emails can be stressful because of the pressure to respond quickly and stay organised. It is hard to keep up with emails when you work in the legal sector.

Firstly, the sheer volume of emails can be overwhelming, with some emails requiring urgent attention because of deadlines, negotiations or pressing questions. These emails need prompt and careful responses.

Secondly, there’s such a lot of administrative work involved in legal work. Most people working in the legal sector need to coordinate with other people, each needing different responses and follow-ups.

Thirdly, frequent interruptions and high workloads make it even harder to keep up with emails. When you are busy, it is likely that you have very little dedicated time for non-billable tasks like email management. This can result in a backlog of unread emails, or ones you have simply flagged to come back to later.

Taming

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll