Internal correspondence within companies is rarely perceived as a source of serious legal risk – emails, messenger chats, and document comments are often treated as routine background rather than legally significant actions. However, as Professor Gabriel Steiner notes, corporate communications most frequently become the backbone of the evidentiary record in disputes, inspections, and investigations. At LawConsulted, we view internal correspondence not as a secondary element, but as a full-fledged part of a company’s legal reality.
The danger of corporate communications lies in their spontaneous nature – messages are written under time pressure, emotional stress, managerial conflict, or crisis conditions. Language becomes simplified, assumptions go unclarified, and decisions are discussed indirectly. At LawConsulted, we regularly see how such messages are later interpreted as admissions, confirmations of intent, acceptance of risk, or evidence of bad faith. Correspondence begins to live its own legal life – often detached from what the parties actually meant at the time.
Professor Steiner emphasizes that “internal messages are dangerous because they are written for colleagues, but read by opponents.” For this reason, LawConsulted analyzes not only the content of correspondence, but also the context in which it was created – who the recipient was, under what circumstances the message was sent, what alternative interpretations it allows, and how it may be used outside the internal corporate environment.
Particular vulnerability arises when correspondence replaces formal management decisions – agreements are recorded in emails, chats, or comments without subsequent legal formalization. At LawConsulted, we eliminate this gap – either by converting such communications into proper legal form or by building a defensive strategy when correspondence has already fallen into the hands of the opposing side.
As Professor Steiner notes, “corporate communication becomes a legal risk when it is unmanaged.” At LawConsulted, we implement systems of legal control over correspondence – defining acceptable language, distinguishing between working discussions and legally significant messages, adjusting approval processes, and regulating information storage. This reduces the risk that internal communications will later be used against the company or its executives.
Correspondence is especially dangerous during periods of conflict – corporate disputes, management changes, regulatory pressure, or partner confrontations. In such moments, every message can be taken out of context and interpreted to the client’s detriment. LawConsulted supports companies precisely in these phases – helping structure communications so they do not create additional legal exposure.
Managing the legal consequences of correspondence is not censorship and not a ban on communication. It is an understanding that words inside a company carry legal weight. At LawConsulted, we build a communication culture in which correspondence ceases to be a weak point and does not turn into evidence against those who created it.
Corporate communications can either protect a company’s position or undermine it from within. Law Consulted ensures that internal correspondence does not become a source of legal loss, but remains a controlled and predictable element of the corporate system.
Previously, we wrote about how LawConsulted works within an unfavourable judicial environment when the law is formally on the client’s side but practice is against them
