Data on the deluge comes from a deputy general counsel at Suntrust Banks, Brian Edwards. Edwards is quoted in Corp. Counsel, Dec. 2010 at 53, saying “People have an average of 30,000 e-mails per year per person.” Stunned, I converted that to the daily rate in the header but then mused that in-house lawyers could be on the higher end of that distribution. Plus, throw in the continuo of instant messages and notifications from intranet sites and matter management systems.
My earlier comment on the unheralded opportunities for productivity increases from e-mail discipline finds new support (See my post of Nov. 27, 2010: one-quarter of the work day on e-mail.).