The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/43128
re You Spamming Your Clients? by John Veldkamp, Business Development Systems Manager at Latham and Watkins LLP, Doug Ladendorf, Manager of Marketing Databases and CRM at Mayer Brown and Bill Vannerson, Database Marketing Manager at Foley & Lardner LLP primary concern of legal marketers when sending external electronic communications is the question of spam. The definition of spam is generally accepted to mean disruptive commercial email messages. We have all experienced spam in our daily lives — messages received either in a volume that is annoying or that aren't relevant to our interests or responsibilities. So how can we effectively communicate with clients, while avoiding the dreaded spam folder? A How the U.S. Defines Spam The U.S. Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003. The act concerns itself primarily with making sure that unsolicited 74 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer electronic communications are not deceptive or misleading. Of the different elements of the act, these are the easiest with which to comply: • The email header must not contain false or misleading information. If you are generating emails from a standard email program, it's almost certain that you are in compliance. An email header contains routing information, a date/time stamp and the to/from information. The email servers use this to be certain the message is delivered correctly. By default, this information is not displayed, although most programs will provide some means of viewing it. • The subject line must match the content of the message.