It’s to your benefit if both you and your correspondents adopt “email habits” which facilitate efficient and timely attention to the topic or request of an email. You can’t control how others handle this, but by setting a good example, you may encourage others to follow your lead.

An effective way to do this is to make sure the title (SUBJECT) of your emails is helpful and not misleading. This includes changing the title of the email title to better reflect the purpose of your most recent response.

Here’s an example of a sequence (thread) of emails involving just two people. Each new email’s title helps the recipient to identify the topic or purpose of each new communication. Alternatively, imagine what this same thread would look like if the SUBJECT stayed unchanged and the thread grew to 5 of 7 or 10 emails, all with the same identical SUBJECT as the first in the following list, over a period of a few days.
SUBJECT: Draft Lease Contract from Landlord
Client’s RESPONSE: Objections to Draft Lease Contract V1
Broker’s RESPONSE: Landlord’s Proposed Changes, Lease Contract V2
Client’s RESPONSE: Proposal for Arbitration: What Is Your Opinion?

The possibility of miscommunication when a particular response involves other newly-added recipients who may be asked to provide some response or take some action, can compound the possibility of error or misunderstanding.

You might argue that you can get the same benefits simply by being sure your emails are sorted in date sequence. We disagree, a date-sorted list can be helpful, but it doesn’t separate the wheat from the chaff, by identifying which emails really involve a “change of topic” rather than merely say “I’ll get back to you tomorrow” or “Thank you for your response, my client will respond within a week.”

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.