REGULARS

Here are a few pointers from attorneys and consultants on using e-mail:

Advise clients not to forward confidential e-mails. Ask whether your client's e-mail account is a corporate account accessible to his or her employer.

Consider seeking a client's permission in a retainer agreement before using e-mail. Obtaining permission is "always a wise idea" - particularly with less sophisticated clients, says attorney Mark Radcliffe.

Write clearly, concisely and carefully. Without body language and verbal cues, the tone of a written message easily can be misconstrued.

Remember that e-mail provides a written record and is subject to discovery requests. Also, keep in mind that e-mail easily can be forwarded to others. Says consultant Albert Barsocchini, "Always draft an e-mail as if it was going to be read in open court."

Consider encrypting confidential client-related e-mail. Attorneys and consultants disagree over when and if encryption is necessary. Some 30 services, including HushMail.com, iSend.com, ZipLip.com, PrivateExpress.com and PGP.com, currently offer encryption services at little or no cost.

Consider including a disclaimer on all e-mail, noting its confidentiality. Be aware, however, that disclaimers, too, can have drawbacks. One attorney-consultant suggests that a consumer could mistake such a disclaimer as evidence of an attorney-client relationship. (Another attorney, however, calls the possibility "a real stretch.") In addition, such disclaimers travel with forwarded e-mail. In one instance, a few Gray Cary employees received chain-letter e-mail promising a free trip to Disneyland. They forwarded it on and eventually a half-dozen angry people called the law firm demanding their free trip, recalls Don Jaycox, the firm's chief technology officer. They had seen the disclaimer and had assumed the e-mail originated with Gray Cary.

Use software that helps you manage your e-mail. For example, "filters" automatically can file certain e-mails, redirect spam or send automatic replies. Barsocchini points to one software program - Disappearing.com - that time-stamps e-mail to automatically become unreadable after a set amount of time. It prevents e-mail, Barsocchini said, "from sitting out there."

Develop firm-wide policies for using the Internet and e-mail. Address such issues as e-mail retention, inappropriate material, personal e-mail, the alteration of third-party e-mail and accessing co-workers' e-mail accounts.