Communication has never been as easy as it is today. Greater volumes of written communication can be generated by more people at greater speed than ever before. Email has become the standard and pervasive means of corporate communication, while sensitive documents not originally created as emails are also transmitted over computer networks as attachments and then saved at various locations.

    There is no exclusive ‘law of email’.email falls within most legal definitions of ‘document’ and there are no special rules for its creation, storage, transmission and recovery. However, any business or organisation trying to comply with the law will find managing email a complex and challenging task because of its sheer volume and the ease with which it can be created and circulated.

    This briefing looks first at the legal principles that govern keeping and managing any company document, before moving on to look at the particular problems and solutions involved in effectively managing electronic communication.

    Please note: references to specificlegislation are included as footnotes.

    This briefing is a general review only.It should not be relied upon as a basis for taking action or refraining from action, and specific legal advice should always be taken for specific circumstances. law on documents