Inbox and correspondence administration for law firms

Administrative triage with firm-defined boundaries

Inbox support should be based on objective rules such as a named recipient, matter reference or approved category. An administrator should not decide the legal urgency or significance of a message. The firm should define a cautious escalation route for anything that is not clearly routine.

Approved acknowledgements can confirm receipt or request an administrative item. They should not give advice, make a promise about the matter or answer a substantive client question.

Keep a visible correspondence queue

A status tracker helps the firm see what was received, where it was filed, who owns the next action and which items have been escalated. It also prevents an administrative acknowledgement being mistaken for completion of the firm’s response.

• Use objective routing rules and named recipients.
• Approve every acknowledgement template in advance.
• Escalate complaints, deadlines and sensitive messages.
• Keep substantive correspondence and legal advice with the firm.