E-mail can be a huge time sink if not managed properly. It is best to pick a specific time each day to read mail. Try to avoid checking E-mail before a deadline or meeting. Taking another approach, some attorneys have an administrative assistant screen E-mail and forward only important messages. That copy on one's PC may not be the only copy, either.
Many organizations keep backups of E-mail on tapes, disks or even paper.
Users can often be their own worst enemy, failing to delete messages from their machine, leaving a trail of E-mail that can go back several months, even years. To be safe, individuals concerned about making a permanent record of a conversation should communicate in some way other than E-mail. Many E-mail programs have the capability to encrypt messages. Senders seeking additional security can place a password into a Word or WordPerfect document prior to sending it. The authorized recipient can then enter the password and open the document.