Page 35 - Pierce County Lawyer - September October 2025

Forward to client - self-explanatory. Normally, rather than
moving the email to this folder, I forward the email right away
and move it from my inbox to my client’s folder unless I need to
draft an email to my client providing an explanation to prevent
ineffective communication. If it is date and/or time sensitive, I
will either calendar it or place it on my task list, as discussed in
my previous article, and then move on to the next email.
To sign - mainly something that needs to be signed and
forwarded for filing. Example: Dear Counsel, attached is the
agreed upon order for you to review with your client and
signature.
Calendar - an event that needs to be placed on the calendar.
Example: the Lincoln Day Banquet.
Task - to do. Example: draft a letter to the bank.
To go through - the sender and/or subject line do not
provide enough information. Without opening it, I cannot
determine what action, if any, needs to be taken..
The mentor advised beginning with the top of the Inbox.
However, I usually start with my Trash Can folder, because
important emails sometimes end up there. Today, Gemini
filtered 124 there, ugh. If there is a wrongly labeled email in my
trash can, without opening it, I select and move it to my Inbox.
After permanently deleting the garbage, I go to the top of my
Inbox and look at the subject line for any more junk emails that
Gemini missed, and, without opening it, move it to the trash
can. After permanently deleting the additional garbage, I go
back to the top of the inbox and, without opening emails, look
at the sender and subject line and ask myself, what folder does
this go in? Example: Subject line - "Filings Notification" and
then followed by “Rejected documents.” Do I need to respond to
this right now? Yes, of course. So, I move it to the folder labeled
‘Firehouse.’ Or maybe I open it and respond immediately?
Some lawyers prefer to flag (or ‘starred’, depending on your
email software) important ones before moving them, then
when reaching the bottom of the inbox, they select “Display
flagged emails.” Others leave them in their inbox to deal with
now rather than move them to a folder. Obviously, use a process
that works most efficiently for you. After reaching the bottom
of the inbox or start of the previous day's emails, the next step
is to open the Firehouse folder and review any emails that were
moved there. At this stage, some lawyers may choose to address
flagged emails. Ultimately, all unread and unflagged emails that
are considered nonessential and can be handled later in the day
should be moved to the "To go through" folder.
In my email software, I have a primary 'Clients' folder, which
contains individual subfolders for each client. When responding
to emails that require more than ten seconds to handle —
under ten seconds are emails such as forwarding a notice of
unavailability or sharing FYI information — I record the time
spent for billing purposes before moving the completed email
to the appropriate client’s folder. I have found it most effective
to document my time prior to moving the email to its final
destination.
Practice Tip:
Please Use but Don’t Abuse NOU
(Notice of Unavailablity)
I thoroughly searched both the Washington Courts
Rules and the Pierce County Local Rules for the
term ‘Notice of Unavailability’, and it appears there
isn't a specific judicial rule, form, or pleading
available for counsel to use for this process.
However, I did find that Island County, WA, has a
relevant local rule, LCR 77(k)(2)(C), which states:
"Such dates shall not include a date that is within a
period covered by a Notice of Unavailability filed
by the other party." This rule provides some insight
into how unavailability might be addressed in other
jurisdictions.
According to AI: In Washington state, a "Notice
of Unavailability" is typically filed in legal contexts,
such as during litigation, to inform the court
and opposing counsel of a party's or attorney's
unavailability for a certain period due to planned
absences. This notice helps prevent scheduling
conflicts and potential motions or deposition
settings during that time.
When to use: While engaged in litigation, filing
a "Notice of Unavailability" with the Court and
serving it on opposing counsel can be very helpful.
This is particularly useful when you anticipate
being out of town for more than a few days, as it
helps prevent unexpected motions or deposition
settings during your absence.
When not to use: You cannot use it to declare
the date you are unavailable just happens to be on
an established trial date. That requires a motion on
the judge’s calendar.
Please don’t abuse. Counsel wants to file
a notice and checks LINX and finds no NOU
filed. Counsel files a notice of a date for an event
(motion, default, deposition, etc.), and out of
nowhere, opposing counsel/pro se litigant files a
NOU for that date.
In my next article, I will discuss
client communications.
David Robert Shelvey is a solo practitioner
in Sumner, WA. He is a member of the
TPCBA Pierce County Lawyer Magazine
and CLE Committee. He has been an
attorney since 2015. He also volunteers as
a president and cook for a local nonprofit.
david@rockcraft.org.
S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 2 5 | P I E R C E C O U N T Y L A W Y E R 3 5