Inbound and Sent Email

Inbound and Sent Email in LawServa lets your law firm collect the email that arrives at its filing mailboxes, put each message on the right matter with its attachments filed as documents, and write, reply to, forward and resend email in the practice's own name. Every message received or sent is kept with its text and its files. It is used by fee earners, secretaries and clerks who handle the firm's correspondence, and by the administrator who sets up the mailboxes.

Before You Start

Both trays sit under Files > Correspondence, as the Inbound Email and Sent Email tabs beside Letters. The screens themselves are titled Inbound Mail and Sent Mail.

• To see either tray you need permission to view the firm's mail.
• To file or set aside an incoming message you need permission to file mail.
• To compose, reply, forward or send again you need permission to send mail, and the practice must have its own sending address set up by its owner on the Law Firm record. Without that address the Compose button does not appear.
• To add or change a filing mailbox you need permission to manage mailboxes.

LawServa only reads a filing mailbox. It never deletes anything on your mail server, and reading a message in LawServa does not mark it read in any other mail client.

Setting Up a Filing Mailbox

A filing mailbox is one mailbox the office already forwards correspondence to. Until one exists, the screen says No filing mailbox is set up yet.

1. Open Files > Correspondence and choose the Inbound Email tab.
2. Press Add Mailbox. The Add a Filing Mailbox dialog opens.
3. Fill in the fields below.
4. Press Save Mailbox. The mailbox is read on the next poll, and mail is pulled in every few minutes after that.

The Filing Mailboxes Table

Below the messages, the Filing Mailboxes table shows each mailbox's Name, Account, Last Read, Auto-File setting and State. Under Action, press Edit to change it, or Switch Off and Switch On to stop or restart reading. Switching off does not affect anything already filed.

Reading the Inbound Tray

The tray lists each message's Received date and mailbox, From, Subject, number of Attachments, the Suggested File and an Action column. Unread messages stand out, and a message still waiting after two days shows a Waiting pill with the number of days.

Use Search to find a sender, a subject or words in the message, and Show to pick a folder, then press Filter. Up to 100 messages are listed at a time; file or set aside what is there to see the rest.

A message filed without a person shows the Filed Automatically pill. A message you have answered shows REPLIED.

Filing an Email on a Matter

1. On the Inbound Email tab, press the subject or the Open icon. The Email record opens and is marked read.
2. Read the Message card. Press Original to download the message as received.
3. Check the Attachments card. Use View to open a file to read, or Download.
4. Under File It, choose the Matter. If LawServa found a likely file it is already chosen, with the reason; check it before filing. If not, the hint says LawServa could not tell which file this belongs on.
5. Optionally type a Note. It goes on the correspondence entry with the email.
6. Press File It.

Filing puts the message on the matter's correspondence and every attachment on the matter as a document, through the same checks an ordinary upload goes through. Afterwards each attachment's State reads Filed as a document, Refused with the reason, or Kept with the email.

Setting an Email Aside

If a message belongs on no file, open it and press Set Aside, then confirm. It moves to Not filed and stays readable.

Reading an Email With AI

Where your firm has AI switched on, the File It card offers Read an Incoming Email. It says what the sender is asking for and quotes any date the message states. It does not file the message and does not choose the matter.

Composing a New Email

1. Press Compose on either the Inbound Mail or Sent Mail screen. The New Email dialog opens, showing the practice's own address it will be sent from.
2. Fill in To (one or more addresses, separated by commas), and optionally Cc and Bcc.
3. Enter the Subject and the Message.
4. Choose a Matter, or leave it as Not tied to a matter. Tied to a matter, the message is logged on its correspondence.
5. To add files, use Attach from Your Computer: up to 10 files, 20 MB altogether. With a matter chosen, each file is also filed on it as a document.
6. With a matter chosen, you can also pick from Attach from the Matter's Documents. Hold Ctrl or Cmd to choose more than one. Privileged documents are not offered.
7. Press Send.

Reply, Reply All, Forward and Send Again

Every option opens the same composer, so you can edit anything before pressing Send. Replies come back to Inbound Mail. Forward and Send Again do not re-attach the original files; attach what you need again. Messages that were held back cannot be replied to or forwarded.

The Sent Email Register

The Sent Email tab keeps every message sent in the practice's name permanently: those written here, those sent by LawServa, by the AI lawyer, copies to the firm's own email and mail tests.

1. Open Files > Correspondence and choose Sent Email.
2. Search by recipient, subject or words, or narrow with Sent By, then press Filter.
3. Press a subject or Open to read the Sent Email record, its Attachments, the Matter and, for a reply, a link to the message it answers.

Emailing a Matter Record

From a matter record's toolbar, the Email option opens Email This Record. It sends a short summary of the file only, never the documents, narrative or chronology.

1. Type the address in Send To. It is never pre-filled.
2. Optionally add a Note, Optional.
3. Press Send Email, read the matter and address shown back to you, then press Confirm Send.

This needs its own permission, and only a few records can be emailed out per person per hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Has an Email Not Been Filed Automatically?

Automatic filing only happens when it is switched on for the mailbox and there is no doubt: the sender is a client with exactly one open file, or the matter number is quoted. Everything else waits for a person.

Why Was an Attachment Refused?

Attachments pass the same checks as any upload. One that fails is refused, the reason is shown beside it, and the file is still kept with the email.

Where Do Replies to My Email Go?

Messages go out from the practice's own address, and replies come back to Inbound Mail through the firm's filing mailbox.

Can I Delete a Sent Email?

No. Sent Mail is a permanent register, and failed sends stay on it with their reason.

Why Can I Not See the Compose Button?

You need permission to send mail, and the practice's own sending address must be set up by its owner on the Law Firm record.

Related Guides

• Documents and Correspondence
• Matters
• AI Lawyer
• Firm Management and Access
• Troubleshooting and FAQ