Here’s an example: Let’s say you are a professional service provider, so you have clients and matters for each client. Thus, the filing system can be set up as a folder for the client and subfolders for each matter. (Note, you can add as many subfolders under the mater subfolder as you’d like – e.g., correspondence, etc.).

These folders are best created on your hard drive or network drive, not in the e-mail application itself. The reasons are (1) you can overload your e-mail application causing it to slow down or, worse, become corrupt, and (2) you are now storing all information relating to that client/matter in one place instead of two – in your e-mail and on your hard drive (for other electronic files that you collect during the pendency of this matter).

Whenever you get an e-mail that relates to the client/matter in question, simply click File > Save As in the menu bar for the e-mail. I prefer to save everything as Save As Type: XXX-Unicode. (Note, I use Microsoft Outlook, so the file type is Outlook Message Format – Unicode). This creates a saved file in my client/matter file for that message, including all the attachments. You can also re-title the new file before clicking Save to make it easier to find in the future.

If you just want to save the attachment in an e-mail, you can click File > Save Attachment and save just the attachment. (Alternatively, you can right click on the attachment and do the same).

Once the e-mail is saved as a “document” in your on-board filing system, you can delete it from your e-mail client. This lightens up both your Inbox and your e-mail application!

Here’s an example: Let’s say you are a professional service provider, so you have clients and matters for each client. Thus, the filing system can be set up as a folder for the client and subfolders for each matter. (Note, you can add as many subfolders under the mater subfolder as you’d like – e.g., correspondence, etc.).

These folders are best created on your hard drive or network drive, not in the e-mail application itself. The reasons are (1) you can overload your e-mail application causing it to slow down or, worse, become corrupt, and (2) you are now storing all information relating to that client/matter in one place instead of two – in your e-mail and on your hard drive (for other electronic files that you collect during the pendency of this matter).

Whenever you get an e-mail that relates to the client/matter in question, simply click File > Save As in the menu bar for the e-mail. I prefer to save everything as Save As Type: XXX-Unicode. (Note, I use Microsoft Outlook, so the file type is Outlook Message Format – Unicode). This creates a saved file in my client/matter file for that message, including all the attachments. You can also re-title the new file before clicking Save to make it easier to find in the future.

If you just want to save the attachment in an e-mail, you can click File > Save Attachment and save just the attachment. (Alternatively, you can right click on the attachment and do the same).

Once the e-mail is saved as a “document” in your on-board filing system, you can delete it from your e-mail client. This lightens up both your Inbox and your e-mail application!