Go Ahead. Ignore That Email.
The costs of maintaining an empty inbox far outweigh whatever satisfaction you might derive from it.
Unless you’re a lawyer, most of it can be ignored.
Illustration: Jessica Karl
Suppose you’re suing your employer for an injury you suffered on the job. Your lawyer tells you the suit has been dismissed. Chagrined, you ask why. Because your side missed a deadline to file a response, you’re told. And why was the deadline missed? Because a “glitch” sent the court’s email into a folder your lawyer doesn’t regularly check.
That’s more or less what happened in a case decided last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The judges ruled that the glitch provided no excuse for missing the deadline. The lawyer is responsible for checking for messages from the court. However tough that answer might be on the client, it’s easy to see why the alternative would create the wrong incentives. Scores of judges have faced the same issue; nearly all have come out the same way.