As your ability to respond to emails will usually be restricted during a holiday, you should always ensure that an automated message for your out-of-office facility is activated before departure. Amongst other things, your message should state when you will return and who to contact in your absence. Some suggested wording is set out below (though feel free to inject a little of your own personality if you prefer, especially in any internal automatic reply):
"Thank you for your email. I am out of the office until [date] and will respond to your email upon my return. If the matter is urgent, then you should contact me on my mobile phone [number] or alternatively contact my colleague [name of Keystone individual] on [email] or [telephone]."
You will need to set up appropriate messages to handle emails from within Keystone and all external emails, although there is no reason why the same wording cannot apply to both. Should you wish, the automated facility can be set up to recognise individual email addresses and send a bespoke message that you have drafted for that particular individual. You can set up particular rules in your absence, for example to forward emails containing a particular word or from a particular sender to a colleague. The controls for this are under the tab "Manage Rules and Alerts" in your Outlook. The IT Team can provide a little training on this on request.
Hint: Check with a colleague first before providing their details as an alternative point of contact.
The COLs can, by prior arrangement with agreed supervision, look after appropriate matters in your absence. Please bear in mind the provisions of the Legal Services Act 2007 and the SRA updated guidance on supervision arrangements, titled: "Effective supervision", following the Court of Appeal's judgment in Mazur & Stuart v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP.
The Court of Appeal ruled on March 31, 2026, that unqualified or unauthorised persons (such as paralegals, trainees, and legal clerks) may lawfully perform tasks that constitute the conduct of litigation, for and on behalf of an authorised person, provided the authorised lawyer retains proper direction, management, supervision, and ultimate legal responsibility. Refer to the SRA guidance for further information on how and when tasks should be delegated, and how you can demonstrate accountability through appropriate direction, management, supervision and control. Note that the guidance sets out the respective responsibilities of supervisors and supervisees and includes useful case studies to assist you and the firm in exercising professional judgement. See also The Law Society's note titled: "Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys: what it means for litigators" and the guidance prepared by our General Counsel.