Karen Hart Cautions Credit Managers About Email Use in NACM Magazine

Partner Karen L. Hart authored the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) Business Credit Magazine article titled, “Dance Like No One is Watching; Email Like It May One Day Be Read Aloud in a Deposition.” The piece offers credit managers tips for reducing potential risks when emailing and using other forms of electronic communications. Hart cautions that emails and texts – as written electronic records – may be subject to discovery and potential litigation holds. She urges credit managers to “pause and think” before hitting “send.” Hart notes that credit managers and other business professionals should consider whether email or text is the best method of communication for any given situation, and they should think about whether an email or text could be misread or misconstrued later.  Hart explains that professionalism is key when emailing in a business setting. She urges credit managers and other professionals to consider both what they are saying and how they are conveying the message – bearing in mind their emails and texts are probably becoming part of an electronic record that could potentially be exposed to later review and scrutiny by management, attorneys, judges and a jury.