Lesson Learned: Type the certified mail number on the correspondence

A Few Extra Keystrokes Could Win Your Case

Years agoa new associate covered for a senior associate at a motion for summary judgment he had filed in a small matter. A key element that they had to prove was that a colleague had sent the other lawyer a notice letter. The file contained a yellow, flimsy copy (carbon copy paper, used in the old days) of the notice letter and a signed, dated certified mail receipt of the notice.

However, the other lawyer claimed he never received the letter and that the receipt must have been for some other communication. The judge denied the motion.

Lesson Learned: Type the certified mail identification number on the document so mail receipts can easily be matched to the document.

Courtesy of the ABA Litigation newsletter