8. Sloppy subject lines. Remember that anything sent to another lawyer in an email could be forwarded to anyone else. Think twice before using subject lines such as "my idiotic client" or "stupid judge's order." One never knows where a copy of that email may land. Also, don't leave subject lines blank, as that may cause another lawyer to not notice there is an email about your case. A simple subject line of "Parkerson case" or "Smith proposed agreement" or whatever title is relevant to the content of the email works best. And while "idiotic client" may be the most accurate description of the contents of the email, it is a poor choice for the subject line.
9. Watch your tone -- and don't misread someone else's. When people speak to each other face to face, facial cues and vocal tones usually make a person's intent clear. On telephone calls, a person's voice is usually enough to be able to tell when someone is being sarcastic, joking, or serious. But in email, it is dangerously easy to completely misread a person's intent. Numerous friendships have been damaged by one person misreading another person's intent in statements in an email. And with lawyers so used to arguing with each other already, it is easy for an attorney to be quick to assume that the other person is being hostile or rude.
As discussed under "writing email while angry," take a few minutes to cool off before sending out a response to that jerk's email. After an hour passes, you may realize that you completely misread it in the first place. Don't have a hair-trigger response to statements made in emails, and don't fire off a response until considering whether it is possible the sender had a different intent than it initially appeared. If it seems that a statement could be read in more than one way, and one of those ways is non-offensive, try giving the sender the benefit of the doubt before cutting off his head with a deadly email missive.
Are there other lawyer email mistakes that should have made the Top 10 list? Tell us about it in the Forum.