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Discussion on: Protect Yourself like the FBI — with Memos

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bosepchuk profile image
Blaine Osepchuk

My first mentor taught me the importance of documenting anything that could be important in the future. And that idea was reinforced by a lawyer who once told me that "in a court case, he who has the most documentation wins." That's stuck with me throughout my career.

For anything I don't want other people to see or that they wouldn't care to see, I write handwritten notes in a journal format. For things others might be interested in, I mostly write emails.

A key feature of my memos is that the dates must be beyond dispute (able to stand up in court if it ever came to that).

I consider my memo writing part of being a professional and cheap career insurance.

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monknomo profile image
Gunnar Gissel

I've also heard, "Never write anything down you don't want read in court with a demeaning tone"

Maybe I should do a quick blurb on the importance of phone calls for delicate inquiries that might be awkward on paper, lol

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bosepchuk profile image
Blaine Osepchuk

Yes, that's very good advice.

Related to that, I had a professor summarize an ethics course by saying, "basically, don't do anything that you wouldn't want your mother to read on the front page of a national newspaper." I'll never forget that.