The Legal Dept Keeps Busy

Last week, Cameron, the General Counsel, and the legal department began organizing external emails by the legal work they create or by work category. More external email workflows still need to be built, because the Legal Department has many types of email-driven work to manage.

In Week Seven, Cameron and the legal team will strengthen their action or category folders, create careful rules or filters for the workflows developed during Weeks Six and Seven, and confirm that each folder is reviewed regularly.

The 60-Day System

The legal department in Week Seven must continue to analyze the remaining external email sources that impact its email inbox. It is only thereafter that the department can focus on safe rules or filters that will automatically move some (not all) external emails to folder. But automation is only the beginning. After an email reaches the correct folder, the legal team must still review it, assign the work, capture deadlines, schedule completion time, save records in the approved system, respond, and close the loop.

By the end of Week Seven, the legal department should have a more reliable system that answers three questions:

• Where should this email go?

• Who and when is responsible for the next action?

• What must happen before the email can be closed?

The goal is not simply to move emails automatically. It is to create a workflow that promotes ownership, timely action, and consistent follow-through.

Two Key Objectives for Success

Everything in this challenge flows from two foundational commitments.

Organize your email system by

• Using folders

• Conversation views

• Rules

• Filters, and

• Automation.

This structural change ensures that your inbox is easier to identify and process, so the right messages reach you at the right time.

Set the Inbox Up for Success

Commit to spending no more than one hour a day reviewing email. You can break that time up into four 15 minutes in the morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. During each review, every email receives a 15-second decision: Delete it, Delegate (Forward) it, or Do it. Email review becomes a scheduled activity rather than a constant interruption during your day.

Build a New Email Habit

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Week Seven is to build folder system of remaining external email workflows and understand their external email patterns. The next step is to automate carefully. The goal is to create rules and filters that help reduce inbox clutter without hiding important legal work.

For further assistance, Download and Print the 'Legal Dept Action Folder Inbox System'

Create Rules, Filters, Review Habits, and Deadline Controls

Week Seven: Strengthen and Automate the Legal Department External Email Workflow

This Week, Focus On

1. Patterns in senders, keywords, and required actions

2. Safe rules or filters to automate

3. Completing the work of the email.

Day 44

Build HR, CEO, Board, Finance & Compliance Programs Workflows

Now that you have identified recurring external senders and created action or category folders, take a closer look at whether each email is moving to the right place. The goal is to improve accuracy, reduce the risk of important legal work being hidden in the wrong folder, and make sure each folder reflects how you will know your next step whether by action or category. If a needed folder is missing, create it. If an email does not fit the workflow you first selected, update the workflow and move the email to the correct folder. Over the next few days, you will test and refine the external legal department email workflows you began building this week.

Today, you will focus on human resources, CEO, the board of directors, finance, and compliance program emails.

During each email review session, manually move new external emails into the folder that matches the next required action or legal category. Pay close attention to the sender, subject line, and recurring keywords in internal departments or legal compliance programs emails. The goal is to confirm that each email is being routed accurately and to identify patterns that may later support safe rules or filters.

Your role, with the HR Dept may include any and all legal employment matters; such as, job opportunity posts compliancy, EEOC complaints and investigations, poor performance and termination guidelines, collective bargaining agreements with labor unions, employee policy acknowledgements, whistleblower reports and investigations, ethics hotline management, workers compensation programs, among others. When you are managing human resources emails, look for patterns in these emails, such as:

• Email addresses of specifically designated compliance programs, such as ethics@[insertcompany].com.

• Email addresses of specific labor and employment government agencies

• Emails from the HR Dept.

• Employment-related vendors email addresses, such as HR platform, background check, recruiters, and benefit vendors

• Consider emails received prior to the deadline to audit and report on HR matters

Your role with the CEO and the board of directors may include legal advice, approval, or executive-level briefing, legal implications of business strategy and operational decisions, approval of board of directors’ minutes and voting compliance, among others. When you are reviewing emails from the CEO’s office and the board of directors, look for patterns in these emails, such as:

• Discussions of enterprise risk, compliance, ethics, or reputational matters

• Business audits that require legal advice or approval

• Email addresses of the CEO, executive director, and the board of directors

• Emails in preparation of board meetings and typical emails after board meetings

Your role with the Finance Dept. may include Legal Dept. annual budget, a budget for, forecasting, or reporting on outside counsel spend, lending and loan agreements, external financial audit compliance, tax questions, filings, assessments, and government notices, due diligence of mergers, acquisitions, investments, and other significant transactions, among others. When you are reviewing emails from the Finance Dept., look for patterns in these emails, such as:

• · Budgets

• · Tax notices

• · Banking notices

• · Mergers or acquisition matters

• · Email addresses of the Finance Dept.

The senders and patterns you find will be some of your keywords to identify the type of email and move the email to the correct action or category folder.

Action Step:

During your email review sessions, conduct your 15-Second Email Decision Rule on all new emails.

DAY 45

Build Insurance Carriers, Brokers, and Claims Administrators Workflows

Now that you have identified recurring external senders and created action or category folders, take a closer look at whether each email is moving to the right place. The goal is to improve accuracy, reduce the risk of important legal work being hidden in the wrong folder, and make sure each folder reflects how you will know your next step whether by action or category. If a needed folder is missing, create it. If an email does not fit the workflow you first selected, update the workflow and move the email to the correct folder. Over the next few days, you will test and refine the external legal department email workflows you began building this week.

Today, you will focus on insurance carriers, insurance brokers, and claims administrators emails.

During each email review session, manually move new external emails into the folder that matches the next required action or legal category. Pay close attention to the sender, subject line, and recurring keywords for insurance carriers, insurance brokers, and claims administrators emails. The goal is to confirm that each email is being routed accurately and to identify patterns that may later support safe rules or filters.

Your role for the company’s insurance related matters may include selecting and managing the insurance portfolio, managing the insurance requirements (cybersecurity training with IT, vehicle maintenance and training with Maintenance Dept, risk management, etc.), managing brokers, communications regarding claims with claims administrators, among other. When you are reviewing emails from insurance carriers, insurance brokers, and claims administrators, look for patterns in these emails, such as:

• Policy deadlines and renewals

• Risk avoidance and mitigation training and policies

• Emails from insurance carriers, brokers, and claim administrators

• First notice of loss claims from employees and customers

The senders and patterns you find will be some of your keywords to identify the type of email and move the email to the correct action or category folder.

Action Step:

During your email review sessions, conduct your 15-Second Email Decision Rule on all new emails.

Review For insurance carriers, insurance brokers, and claims administrators emails, move to the applicable action folder or category folder. If the email contains a date or deadline, also ensure that the person responsible for calendaring and docketing deadlines move the email to the For Internal File / Calendar folder.

DAY 46

Review Folders and Keyword Patters & Calendar Work Completion

You should refocus on the primary purpose of the email workflows: making sure every deadline, calendar item, and task moves into the correct folder and receives follow-through. Confirm that deadlines are entered into the approved docketing system, calendar events are added to the correct individual or team calendar, and task-related emails are assigned, scheduled, and completed through role assignments and review of the action or category folders.

Automation is only helpful if it supports action. A folder full of correctly routed emails still creates risk if no one reviews the folder, enters deadlines, saves documents, or completes the assigned work.

It is recommended that your Legal Dept’s standard operating procedures identify who is responsible for administrative follow-through for the external email workflows. In many teams, an administrative assistant or paralegal enters deadlines in the approved docketing system, adds events to the correct calendar, saves emails or attachments to the matter system, and replies to the team when docketing, calendaring, or filing is complete.

As you implement the structure outlined in this Challenge, you are creating a double-check process that reduces the risk of missed external email tasks and deadlines. The docketing system should capture formal deadlines and critical dates, while scheduled calendar blocks should prompt the individual or team to review the related action folders and complete the assigned work.

Do not believe that an automated rule or filter completes the work. A rule or filter only moves the email. The team must still calendar, assign, review, respond, and save to close the loop.

Action Step:

Action Step:

Review and ensure that your standard operating procedures cover the goals of docketing, calendaring, filing, and action completion of the external emails.

Process 50 old external emails and remove them from the inbox.

DAY 47

Create Rules or Filters for Litigation, Regulation, Business Partners Emails

Once your external email folder system is working and you have identified predictable emails that can safely move to action or category folders, you can begin creating rules or filters.

Today, create carefully selected rules or filters for outside counsel, court filings, regulatory agencies, intellectual property filings, licensing, vendors, suppliers, and business partners. Remember to consider the following:

• Sender names

• Sender domains

• Subject-line phrases

• Email types

• Attachments

• Notifications

• System-generated messages

• Recurring deadlines or status updates

• Keywords or phrases

If you have chosen action folders, here are some possible rules or filters:

• Emails from outside counsel firms with “offer” or “demand,” go to Negotiation, Mediation, or Arbitration Needed folder.

• Emails from a court system with “Final Judgment,” “Summary Judgment,” “Trial Set,” go to the Legal Review Needed folder.

• Emails from a regulatory agency with “compliance” or “audit,” go to Legal Drafting Needed folder.

• Emails from intellectual property agencies with “deadline” or “expires,” go to Calendar or Docketing Needed folder.

• Emails from the company’s registered agents with “filing”, go to External Filing Needed folder.

• Emails from business partners with “contract,” “agreement,” “amendment,” “renewal,” or “SOW,” go to Legal Review Needed folder.

Action Step:

Create rules or filters for outside counsel, court filings, regulatory agencies, intellectual property filings, licensing, vendors, suppliers, and business partners..

DAY 48

Create Rules or Filters for Other Departments, the Board, Insurance Partners Emails

Once your external email folder system is working and you have identified predictable emails that can safely move to action or category folders, you can begin creating rules or filters.

Today, create carefully selected rules or filters for human resources, CEO, the board, finance, the compliance programs, insurance carrier, insurance brokers, and claims administrators. Remember to consider the following:

• Sender names

• Sender domains

• Subject-line phrases

• Email types

• Attachments

• Notifications

• System-generated messages

• Recurring deadlines or status updates

• Keywords or phrases

If you have chosen action folders, here are some possible rules or filters:

• Emails from the EEOC, go to Legal Drafting Needed folder.

• Emails from the board of directors with “deadline”, go to Calendar or Docketing Needed folder.

• Emails from insurance carriers with “declaration page” or “binder”, go to Internal Filing Needed folder.

• Emails from a claims administrators with “offer” or “demand”, go to Negotiation, Mediation, or Arbitration Needed folder.

Action Step:

Create rules or filters for human resources, CEO, the board, finance, the compliance programs, insurance carrier, insurance brokers, and claims administrators emails.

Action Step:

Action Step:

Action Step:

For human resources, CEO, the board of directors, finance, and compliance program emails move to the applicable action folder or category folder. If the email contains a date or deadline, also ensure that the person responsible for calendaring and docketing deadlines move the email to the For Internal File / Calendar folder..

For human resources, CEO, the board of directors, finance, and compliance program emails, write down common senders and topic keywords that may support future rules or filters.

Action Step:

For insurance carriers, insurance brokers, and claims administrators emails, write down common senders and topic keywords that may support future rules or filters.

Action Step:

Move or process at least 24 old emails that match the new rules..

Action Step:

Move or process at least 24 old emails that match the new rules.

Week Seven Goals

By the end of Week Three, each participant should have:

• Identified major external email sources

• Created action or legal category folders for external legal department emails

• Organized external emails by action or legal category

• For each folder, Included the time to do the work on your calendar

• Created safe rules and filters

• Confirmed that deadlines and tasks are captured

• Continued reducing old inbox clutter

A practical Week Seven clean-up target is to remove 50 to 85 old external emails from the inbox by moving, filing, saving, calendaring, delegating, responding, archiving, or deleting according to the department's policy.

Congratulations on completing Week Seven of this 60-day Challenge!

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