Just because nearly everyone knows how to send email doesn’t mean they use it well. In my previous post (“Most Dangerous Outlook Features for Lawyers“), I showed you two frequently used Outlook features that trip up even seasoned users: Auto-Complete and Out of Office (aka Automatic Replies). Here are two more features you’ll want to be wary of, lest you accidentally breach attorney-client privilege.
BCC
Blind-copying a client on an outgoing email seems like an efficient way to keep a client or other interested party in the loop on your communications with opposing counsel or others. Outlook keeps the identity of any BCC’d parties secret in your outgoing email (although they’re still retained in the message’s metadata). Sounds safe enough, right?
The problem with BCC, however, isn’t your outgoing email. It’s what happens when a blind-copied recipient hits Reply to All. At that point, one protected recipient’s identity is exposed, and if others on the BCC list do the same, their identities are revealed as well as what they wrote.
I’m not saying it’s always dangerous to use BCC. For instance, if your assistant saves your outgoing emails to a document management system, blind-copying him or her makes that task easier. If you use BCC, though, always consider the impact on client confidentiality should the reply chain get out of your control.
In some cases, you would be better off forwarding the original message to your client (with a slightly altered Subject line to keep it out of the original Outlook conversation view).
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