LEXPERT’S CONVERSATION with Clay Horner, included a delightful exchange about the ways in which lawyers express themselves on their automatic replies when they are away. Yes, we all understand the problems inherent in 24-hour access to mobile telecommunications. It is really, really hard to get away, for a week, for a day.Is this why some lawyers will leave auto-replies that say they will have “limited access to email,” as though they were being denied access or travelling in the world’s remotest village, rather than the truth that they are choosing to deny themselves access?
And then there is the auto-reply combination that accompanies a work/holiday trip. The holiday part is downplayed and the conference or meetings are upgraded. In the message this translates to, “I am attending the Directors and Officers Liability Section of the French Bar Council and therefore will be delayed in responding … ,” with no mention of the restaurants and lights of Paris creating their own delays.
You can be outed on any of these in many ways, including: suppose you were just screening your emails but responded to a priority client right away? He or she then knows you’ve been less than candid on your auto-reply. Or, you don’t answer your client and then you bump into them at Alléno Paris/Pavillon Ledoyen (http://www.yannick-alleno.com/fr/restaurants-reservation/alleno/restaurant-3-etoiles-paris.html).
Better to be candid in the first place.
