Lawyers Conveyancing Email
You may be wondering about our strange-looking email addresses. The purpose of this page is to explain how our email addresses work, and how using them correctly will ensure that your conveyancing matter is handled effectively and efficiently from start to finish. What follows is a series of questions and answers that will explain how our email system works, and why it is better for all parties involved in your conveyancing transaction. See also “Why Email is Better Than the Telephone“.
How does the Lawyers Conveyancing email system work?
We have moved away from the old single email address, and adopted a more advanced conveyancing client management system (called ActionStep) that creates a unique email address for each and every conveyancing matter. By using the ActionStep email system we can maximise efficiency and reduce the problems commonly associated with email.
Can I still send my emails to your general email address?
Yes, but we receive emails of all kinds that are addressed to our general email address. These emails then have to be read, identified as relating to a particular matter file, and then sent to the File Manager who is handling that file. Of course, we also receive emails of an administrative nature, and advertising material etc.
To avoid your important email being mixed in with the many other emails sent to our general email address, you should ensure that your unique matter email address is used by anyone who wants to communicate with us about your matter.
Can I still send my emails to the person handling my matter?
Yes, but here is no need to use the personal email address of the person handling your matter (referred to in ActionStep as the File Manager). This is because our unique matter email address incorporates the identity of the particular File Manager. For example, you may be selling your existing home, and also purchasing another. There may be one File Manager handling your sale matter, but a different File Manager handling your purchase matter.
If you send a matter relating to your sale matter to the person handling your purchase matter it can become confusing. But if you simply use your “REPLY” button to respond to an email you receive from us, you can be sure that your reply will go to the right person and will be linked to correct matter file.
What if I have both a sale matter and a purchaser matter?
The first comment to make here is that the most efficient way for a conveyancing business to handle conveyancing transactions is to have File Managers allocated to specific matter types, in order to benefit from the expertise and economies of scale that this approach develops. For example, a File Manager who deals only with sale matters is able to deal more efficiently with a number of files of a similar type, than to be changing from one type to another.
Having an email address that identifies the specific matter ensures that all emails relating to that particular matter are dealt with by the appropriate File Manager. Thus, if you have both a sale matter and purchase matter running simultaneously, you can ensure that there are no mix-ups with emails or attachments if you use the correct email address for the matter concerned.
This is where the “REPLY” button is particularly useful. If you receive an email from the File Manager handling your sale requesting a copy of your most recent rates notice, you can simply click “REPLY”, attach the rates notice, then click “SEND”. Without even thinking about which matter the rates notice relates to, or which File Manager is dealing with the matter, you can be sure that your email will now deliver the rates notice direct to the correct File Manager and the correct matter file simultaneously. What’s more, the rates notice you have attached will also be filed in the correct electronic file within your matter file (see more on this below under What happens to attachments that I send with my email?).
What does my unique matter email address look like?
The unique email address for your matter will usually look something like this:
4916@lawyersrealestate.com.au
You will always find the unique email address for the matter in the contact information in the top left hand corner of any email we send to you.
Ordinarily (depending on which email facility you use) you can find the unique email address for your conveyancing matter in the address line when you click on “REPLY”.
In most cases you will only ever have to use the “REPLY” button to ensure that your email is correctly addressed, but sometimes you may need to provide details of the unique email address to other parties, such as real estate agents, mortgage brokers or banks, building inspection service providers or any others who may need to make contact with us in relation to your particular matter.
How do I find my unique matter email address?
You will always find the unique email address for the matter in the contact information in the top left hand corner of any email we send to you. Ordinarily (depending on which email facility you use) you can find the unique email address for your conveyancing matter in the address line when you click on “REPLY”.
For example, in Gmail there is a little arrow below the “To” address, and clicking on this will reveal the unique matter email address if it is not already displayed.
If you’re not using the “REPLY” facility, and you’re unsure as to whether you’ve got the right email address for the matter you’re dealing with, just use the email address you have, and send us a check email. Type the name of your matter in the subject line of the email, and in the body of the email request confirmation that the email address you have used has been correctly linked with your matter. We will send a reply to confirm.
Why is it so important that I use the “REPLY” function when sending emails?
Because it’s the easiest way to ensure that your email will be correctly addressed. If you use the “REPLY” function there is no need to go to any trouble to ensure that you have the correct email address or that your email is going to the correct File Manager – it’s all dealt with automatically.
It’s the same for the real estate agent, mortgage broker or anyone else who receives an email sent by us from within your matter.
Also, if you forget the unique matter email address, or you’re worried about making a mistake in copying it down, it’s a simple task to find a previous email we have sent to you about the matter and click “REPLY” on that email. Once again, the email you send will be properly addressed. It won’t matter that it’s sent as a reply to an older email, because we’re quite used to clients using older emails for this purpose.
What happens to emails I send to the generic email address for Lawyers Conveyancing?
Don’t worry, they’re not marked as spam or automatically deleted. Emails sent to our generic email addresses cannot be sorted by ActionStep, and so they are declared UNASSIGNED EMAIL. The Unassigned Email folder is checked from time to time, and if an email can be identified as belonging to a particular matter it can then be assigned to that matter.
The problem with emails that find their way into the Unassigned Email folder is that the File Manager for the particular matter may miss them, and not realise this until you call to say that you have received no response to your email. Although emails in the Unassigned Email folder can be allocated to their related matter, this doesn’t mean that they will automatically come to the attention of the File Manager. This is because the File Manager is only alerted to emails that appear in his or her email Inbox. (For more about our email alerts see “How does the File Manager know when my email has arrived?” below.)
What happens to attachments that I send with my email?
When emails are correctly addressed, documents attached to them are also automatically delivered to the correct matter file. ActionStep keeps attachments in a separate folder, so that the File Manager can select which attachments are important enough to be filed in the matter’s Document Folder (brand images or photos of estate agents, for example, are discarded as unnecessary attachments, while PDF documents are normally retained).
How does the File Manager know when my email has arrived?
The File Manager for your matter is made aware of the arrival of new emails by a small red alert that appears at the bottom of his or her computer screen. This alert informs the File Manager that one of the matters they are handling has a related email waiting to be checked.
The File Manager does not have to open the matter in order to check the email. Instead, the email is simultaneously added to both the matter file AND to the File Manager’s Inbox. The File Manager may not want to check each an every email as it arrives, but they can monitor the number of emails accumulating in their Inbox. It is also possible for the File Manager to “triage” their emails by clicking into their Inbox and reading through the short summaries associated with each email.
After dealing with an email the File Manager simply deletes it from their Inbox. However, this does NOT delete the email from the matter file! Although reference to the email is removed from the File Manager’s Inbox, the email itself remains in the matter file together with its attachments, and can only be deleted from with the matter file – efficient, but also safe. (See also “What happens to emails I send to the generic email address for LRE Conveyancing?” above.)
