The intent of the following text is to provide a template for an information technology organization to prepare recommendations to their technology committee. The template below is designed for a law firm and should be customized to fit specific situations. RPost has prepared this as a courtesy for IT staff.

Summary

The Registered E-mail service by RPost (www.rpost.com) is a simple to use service designed to protect the sender in those instances where the sending, content or time of an e-mail may be disputed, in addition to enhancing efficiency and cost-savings. In basic terms, Registered E-mail is legal proof for important e-mail transactions -- proof that can save attorneys, IT, and the firm time, money, and potential headaches. We currently do not have these capabilities and have exposure. We recommend wide-scale deployment of Registered E-mail services by RPost.

Current Status of Accountability within Firm E-mail:

In the case of a dispute over content, timing, sending or receiving of an e-mail, the archiving of that e-mail in electronic or printed form provides very little protection after the fact. With two clicks of the mouse, one could change anything in standard e-mail and represent it to be the original e-mail. Therefore, it is important to consider that the recipient of an important e-mail transaction could alter the original e-mail and then subsequently challenge the sender’s archived copy as being fraudulent. Also, the fact that something appears in a “sent” folder does not mean that it was ever sent – one can drag anything into that folder. Currently, as a firm, we have either no protection in an e-mail related dispute, or we rely on server logs and forensics that are expensive, time consuming, and generally do not produce complete records (i.e. proof of the e-mail content associated with the e-mail logs).

Considerations for further implementation of Registered E-mail by RPost:

Registered E-mail messages hold far greater evidential weight than traditional mail, courier, fax, or e-mail, and therefore, should provide the sender with protection that will stand up to scrutiny in a dispute resolution situation. Registered E-mail would provide the sender the upper hand in any legal discovery disputes. From the perspective of a mediator, arbitrator, or judicial officer, one looks first at the evidentiary value of what is submitted in gauging its trustworthiness. Evidential weight is about reducing uncertainty surrounding the evidence. The party with the greater evidential weight will win in most cases, or at least mitigate its liability. This is a commercially available, inexpensive, easily deployed, and widely used service. Use will show leadership to our clients, with a service that can protect the firm AND our clients. With this service deployed firm-wide, attorneys will be more capable of complying with notice provisions faster, allowing our clients to react and take action better and faster.

Lawfirm trends for Registered E-mail services by RPost:

A number of bar organizations have endorsed Registered E-mail services by RPost as LEGAL PROOF for Internet e-mail. Among those that have begun educating member attorneys include the Los Angeles County Bar, DC Bar, Puerto Rico Bar, Colorado Bar, and Denver Bar. This service is used by government attorneys in federal and local governments, as well as by competitor law firms such as Greenberg Traurig, among others. The service is also used by attorneys in Europe and Latin America.

Recommendation for Implementation:

Considering our current exposure to challenges around e-mail transmission, the push to better archiving, our desire to ensure we are not at a disadvantage vis-à-vis our competitor firms, and our need to show our clients leadership in technology and business tools, we recommend widespread deployment of Registered E-mail services by RPost. We recommend deployment in the mail client “Send Registered” button, as well as set for use from the Blackberry devices.