Handling Emails with Attachments from OPA

Anytime there is a document attached to an email that the paralegal/legal assistant is copied on, the paralegal/legal assistant must immediately save that to sharepoint and share with the client on mycase. Also, if the document requires some sort of follow up, please take care of that (if you are able) or set a task to remind the attorney to do so.

A few examples –

Proposed MTA/Stipulations: If we get these from the opposing attorney, save that to sharepoint, share with the client on mycase, send the client a message letting saying something like “Greetings – we received a proposed stipulation from attorney (name), which I’ve shared with you on mycase. When you are able, please review the document and make note of any errors, questions, or concerns you see. Then,  (our attorney’s name) would like to set up a time to talk to you and go through the document. Would you be available (give some dates/times about 3-5 days out, depending on the attorney’s schedule, as they need time to review document as well.)” You’d then want to set two tasks. The first would be “Did client respond re: call w/ attorney to go over mta/sip” which you’d probably set 3 days out. Then a second task about a week or so out saying something like “Need to respond to OPA’s proposed MTA/Stip”

Letters: If we get a letter from the opposing attorney, save to sharepoint, share w/ client on mycase, send client a message that says something like “Greetings – we received a letter from attorney (name), which is shared with you via mycase. Please review when you are able and let me know if you have any questions. (Ms. Weinandt/Ms. Blatti/Ms. Kohlmeyer) will also review the letter and follow up with you as necessary.”  Then set a task that is something like “Attorney review/respond to OPA letter?” and set it about 3-5 days out depending on the letter, content, urgency, etc.

Financial Documents or any “Discovery” type documents: If we get these from the opposing attorney, save them to the corresponding discovery folder and use the appropriate naming conventions (see wiki if there are questions on where to save how to name). Then upload and share w/ client on mycase and send them a message letting them know we received some documents from the opposing attorney and they are shared in the discovery folder in MyCase. Then, if someone else is working on discovery (like Angelina, or an associate attorney), please make sure you let them know we got documents in, because they may be waiting on those.

Mediation/ENE Documents: What to do with these is laid out pretty clearly in the wiki article (Mediation / ENE Prep – Paralegal Responsibilities – K|H Law Wiki (theintervenors.com))  But essentially, you’re going to save them to a new folder titled ENE or Mediation in sharepoint. Then you will upload them to MyCase, also in a new folder titled ENE or Mediation. You’ll send a message to the client, some of the documents will be uploaded for the client’s signature, some will need to be filled out by the client. You’ll need to set tasks to make sure all the documents are completed by the client and then sent back to the mediator/neutral prior to mediation/ene. Again, this is a rough summary – see the wiki article for better explanation.

In summary – any documents that are attached to emails that paralegal/legal assistant are included on are paralegal/legal assistant responsibility to save/share and should be done as soon as possible.

Sometimes, an attorney might get an email with documents that paralegal/legal assistants are NOT cc’d on and, in response, they will just forward the email to the paralegal/legal assistant with no context. In that situation, assume you are supposed to follow the same steps above in terms of saving/sharing.

The other thing to be mindful of is the general content of the emails/letters. If there are zoom links, make sure you are putting those in the calendar. If the letters have deadlines that we are supposed to respond by, please make sure those are noted and the attorney is aware. If the letter is requesting that our client provide documents, make sure client knows they need to provide those, add a task to follow up with them, and then stay on that until they have provided what they are supposed to provide. Part of what we as paralegals/legal assistants should be working towards is anticipating the next steps, so please be reviewing emails, documents, and ensure you are paying attention to how the case is moving forward.