Email as a Platform

• Author: Dennis Kennedy - Tom Mighell
• Pages: 145-155

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Email as a Platform

Many years ago, email was dubbed the “killer app,” as the

computer application destined to have the most impact on our

daily lives. The fact that more than 250 billion emails are sent

on a daily basis proves the truth of that assertion. There are

days when we feel we get at least that many ourselves. Because

it is likely the electronic communications tool you use most

often in your practice, there is a temptation to say email is the

best collaboration tool for lawyers—but we’re not sure would

agree with that conclusion. In this chapter, we’ll discuss the

idea of email as a collaboration platform, the pros and cons of

using email as a collaboration tool, and some practical tips for

getting the most out of your email use.

Of all the collaboration platforms we discuss in this book,

none is more important or more ubiquitous than email, for

several reasons:

n Simplicity—Email is easy to use (although it may be

more difficult to manage, as we’ll discuss below). Of all

computer applications, email is perhaps the one that

people “get” the most. And after you learn it for the

first time, all other upgrades or variations are basically

the same, so the learning curve for keeping up with

email is almost nonexistent.

n Interoperability—No matter what operating system

you use, you can send email. Further, you can use

email from a stand-alone application or via web-based

sites like Gmail. It’s also accessible from anywhere you

are—from your computer, your tablet, or, increasingly,

your cell phone—at any time.

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