Patent ID: 7774408

Claim:
A method to process an electronic mail message (email), comprising: receiving the email, within and as part of an electronic mail service, which is an email system having an email client and an email server, wherein the email is associated with at least one of a matter and an organization, and wherein the email is processed and handled within the electronic mail service; and linking the email to at least one of the matter and the organization, wherein the matter and the organization include at least one of personnel data, organization data, assignment data, document data, task data, and discussion data, wherein the email is linked via metadata of the email, which is recognized by the electronic mail service, and wherein the metadata includes at least one of a matter identification and an organization identification, which permit the linking of the email to the matter or the organization, and the metadata also includes a subject of the email, and the metadata is modifiable by the email client or email server to include or change the matter identification or the organization identification.