WHY PHONE CALLS BEAT BEING A KEYBOARD WARRIOR

You email opposing counsel asking for a specific document that was omitted from their discovery responses. Several days go by without a response. You send a second and third email, still with no response. Annoyed, you pick up the phone to call opposing counsel only to find your email was stuck in spam. What should have taken two minutes of conversation turned into days or weeks of silence, multiple emails, and unnecessary frustration in an already adversarial profession. Anyone who has handled claims or litigation for more than a few months has experienced some version of this story. The fix is almost embarrassingly simple: don't be afraid to pick up the phone.

The Email Trap

Emails and instant messaging now run the daily litigation practice, and it is easy to see why. Sending an email ignores time zones, does not require two calendars to line up, and creates a written record without anyone lifting a pen. But convenience is not the same as effectiveness, and litigation is one of those areas where the two often diverge.

Why is email communication so convenient? Case volume. Why does relying only on emails to move cases along result in the opposite? Case volume.

The average lawyer (or claims adjuster) receives well over a hundred emails a day, and plenty of us blow past that before lunch. That volume creates a kind of fatigue, a to-do list that anyone in the world can add to at any hour, and never seems to get smaller. Worse, most people misjudge how well their written words land. Surveys of full-time workers have found that the overwhelming majority have had an email or message misread or misinterpreted, sometimes with real consequences for their careers. Add in the dreaded spam folder, where a perfectly good message can vanish for days without either side knowing, and the case for "instant" written communication starts to look a lot less instant.

None of this means email is useless. It is still the right tool for routine information, routine requests, and anything that needs to live in writing for the file. But when the goal is to actually resolve something, a phone call gets there faster, with less static along the way.

When to Call, When to Email

Calls are not inherently "better" than email. They serve different purposes, and the trick is matching the tool to the moment. A short rule of thumb: call for bad news, mistakes, urgency, judgment calls, and anything requiring discretion; email for information, routine requests, and detailed analysis that needs to be in writing.

Bad news and mistakes belong on the phone. Litigation is an expectations game, and a case does not feel like a crisis if it was always known to be a tough one and reserved accordingly. But when the bad news is unexpected (e.g., a policy-limits demand, a sudden increase in damages, or an adverse witness who contradicts the client's version of events), hearing a human voice explain it, rather than opening a cold email, calms things down and signals that the surprise is being taken seriously. The same goes for mistakes. Owning up to an error over the phone shows the other person that it registered, and that someone cares enough to say so directly, rather than letting it surface in the next written update.

Urgent matters deserve a call too, even if it goes to voicemail. A message that says "this needs to happen today" lands differently than an email sitting in an inbox next to a hundred others. Whenever a decision requires real back-and-forth, such as strategizing before a mediation, deciding who plays what role, or negotiating where the settlement conversation should start, a call gets to the answer in minutes instead of a week of back-and-forth emails. 

Discretion is the last piece. Settlement discussions with the other side of the fence, in particular, call for a light touch: testing the water, conceding a little without committing to anything in writing, and reading how convinced the other side actually sounds. None of that translates well to a paper trail.

After these calls, email is an excellent next step to provide the recipient with the relevant information. Nobody should be scribbling notes during a phone call to capture a legal analysis, and nobody should have to dig through a filing cabinet while someone waits on the line. 

Why Calls Move Files Forward

There is real research behind why conversation works better than typing. A 2016 Stanford University study found that speaking information was up to three times faster than typing it, with roughly 20 percent fewer errors. People have been talking to each other for a lot longer than they have been typing at each other, and it shows.

Speed matters most when a file has stalled. A fifth unanswered email about something important, an unclear demand that keeps going in circles, a recurring dispute that will not resolve on paper. Each of these is an example most readers are all too familiar with, and they all have one thing in common: a phone call would get it done. A phone call is a lot harder to ignore than an inbox, and there are plenty of ways to reach someone by phone when the usual number goes unanswered, compared to the one email address that may or may not be checked that day.

A good call has a simple shape: know the purpose before dialing, have the key questions ready, walk away with clear next steps, and send a short follow-up email confirming what was discussed. That last step matters. Nobody is suggesting calls replace the written record entirely, only that the record works better as a summary of a conversation rather than a substitute for one.

There is also something a phone call carries that no email ever will: tone. Read the same five words, "can you help me please," five different ways, and the meaning shifts each time depending on where the emphasis lands. In writing, the reader supplies their own emphasis, and in an adversarial relationship, people tend to read the least charitable version. A call removes that guesswork and, over time, builds the kind of rapport with opposing counsel, adjusters, and claimants that makes the next ten conversations easier too.

Keeping Growing Caseloads on Track

None of this requires calling everyone about everything. Short, focused calls used with intention are what prevent files from drifting into the backlog in the first place. The trick is prioritizing well: aging files, high-exposure matters, and the files where the same friction point keeps popping up are the ones worth a call before they turn into a bigger problem. A well-timed phone call can accomplish in five minutes what would otherwise take weeks of back-and-forth correspondence, or head off a motion that did not need to be filed at all. A quick note in the file after the call keeps the record clear and defensible without slowing anyone down.

A Few Habits Worth Building

None of this has to be complicated. A few small habits go a long way:

• Set aside call blocks each week. Even if a scheduled call does not happen, the time is protected for the calls that matter most.

• Keep a short list of the files that deserve a call: the ones keeping you up at night, the highest exposure, or the ones where the read on the other side says a check-in will help.

• Ask questions on every call instead of just taking notes. It sharpens the conversation and, often without anyone realizing it, raises the quality of the other side's handling of the file. You never know when you might uncover previously unknown information through informal discussions. 

• Be friendly with opposing counsel. Build rapport beyond the usual pleasantries. Having a good relationship with the other side is invaluable when it comes to resolving litigation at any stage. 

The Bottom Line

Email is not going anywhere, nor should it. It is still the best way to send information, make a routine request, or put something in writing for the file. But claims handling and litigation are human businesses, built on judgment calls, trust, and the occasional hard conversation. Those things move faster and land better in a real conversation than in one email among thousands in an inbox. The next time a file feels stuck, before drafting one more email, consider the simpler option: just pick up the phone.