How to address business email to woman atty? & Additional Question...

[ha98ed14]

I need to write a professional email to a perspective networking contact. She invited me to contact her at a networking event held just before the holidays and gave me her business card. It reads:

Mary Smith Jones
Attorney At Law

No hyphen in the last name, but I know she is divorced if that matters. Would you say:
Dear Ms. Smith Jones
Dear Ms. Jones
Dear Mary
Does there need to be any Esq. in there? Should I use a colon or a hyphen after the greeting? Also, in the same email I want to ask her if I can take her to lunch or come for an informational interview. How would you word that? I'm not an atty, but she does a lot of work in my field, so it is not a stretch for me to come and talk to her. TIA for any help!

[nrp]

I need to write a professional email to a perspective networking contact. She invited me to contact her at a networking event held just before the holidays and gave me her business card. It reads:

Mary Smith Jones
Attorney At Law

No hyphen in the last name, but I know she is divorced if that matters. Would you say:
Dear Ms. Smith Jones
Dear Ms. Jones
Dear Mary
Does there need to be any Esq. in there? Should I use a colon or a hyphen after the greeting? Also, in the same email I want to ask her if I can take her to lunch or come for an informational interview. How would you word that? I'm not an atty, but she does a lot of work in my field, so it is not a stretch for me to come and talk to her. TIA for any help!

Since you have met her personally, I'd go with Dear Mary. Definitely no Esq. I usually use a comma, and start the message on the next line, like a letter. As for content, I might just say you enjoyed meeting her at X event, and you'd enjoy the chance to talk to her further about her practice.

[kdeunc]

I used to have a boss who used two non-hyphenated last names. I would address it as Ms. Smith Jones,

I would phrase it almost exactly as you did in your post...


Ms. Smith Jones,
It was a pleasure meeting/seeing you at ________event in December. I really appreciate the invitation to contact you regarding job/field/whatever. I would be interested in taking you out to lunch or scheduling an information interview at your convenience. You may contact me..... OR I will follow up by phone next week, etc.

Hope this helps.

[mctlaw]

If you are placing a formal address in your email, I would address it to Mary Smith Jones, Esq. Otherwise, I would just address her as "Mary." I am assuming she is somewhat contemporary to you in age. If she is significantly older, I would probably call her "Ms." That might be my southern upbringing, though, not sure.

I am a (female) attorney and I would not expect a social/networking contact to address me by anything other than my first name!

I don't have any specific advice on how to word an invite for lunch. I, personally, would just refer back to the event where you met to remind her who you are, and then say that you would love to talk more/chat about the field/what have you and wondered if she would have an opening in her schedule for lunch or coffee during the month of __.

[crl]

If you are placing a formal address in your email, I would address it to Mary Smith Jones, Esq. Otherwise, I would just address her as "Mary." I am assuming she is somewhat contemporary to you in age. If she is significantly older, I would probably call her "Ms." That might be my southern upbringing, though, not sure.

I am a (female) attorney and I would not expect a social/networking contact to address me by anything other than my first name!

I don't have any specific advice on how to word an invite for lunch. I, personally, would just refer back to the event where you met to remind her who you are, and then say that you would love to talk more/chat about the field/what have you and wondered if she would have an opening in her schedule for lunch or coffee during the month of __.
:yeahthat: Except I don't have a southern upbringing.

Catherine

[ha98ed14]

Thank you! Ok, Dear Mary, it is! It also solves the problem of whether or not to hyphenate her second and third names.

One other question for mctlaw, since you are an atty, how would you feel if the person sent you their resume? Our conversation was brief but consisted of

Me: "Im interested in your field, have previous experience, am trying to go back after being a SAHM.

Her: That's great, here's my card. I can pass your resume on to our hiring manager and know people in the field that I could introduce you to given the experience you are describing."

So, is it presumptuous to include the resume (and writing samples since that is a huge part of what I do?) in the first email, before we have even met again. Maybe send the resume, but not the writing samples? FWIW, I'm not going to law school, so this is more about skill building, networking, etc.

[Puddy73]

Since you have met her personally, I'd go with Dear Mary. Definitely no Esq. I usually use a comma, and start the message on the next line, like a letter. As for content, I might just say you enjoyed meeting her at X event, and you'd enjoy the chance to talk to her further about her practice.

:yeahthat: I personally hate "Esq." and never use it with my own name or other attorneys.

[mctlaw]

Thank you! Ok, Dear Mary, it is! It also solves the problem of whether or not to hyphenate her second and third names.

One other question for mctlaw, since you are an atty, how would you feel if the person sent you their resume? Our conversation was brief but consisted of

Me: "Im interested in your field, have previous experience, am trying to go back after being a SAHM.

Her: That's great, here's my card. I can pass your resume on to our hiring manager and know people in the field that I could introduce you to given the experience you are describing."

So, is it presumptuous to include the resume (and writing samples since that is a huge part of what I do?) in the first email, before we have even met again. Maybe send the resume, but not the writing samples? FWIW, I'm not going to law school, so this is more about skill building, networking, etc.

Since you just had this discussion over the holidays, which aren't long past, I would feel free to go ahead and include it, referencing your initial discussion. If more time had passed, I would probably mention the resume in another conversation first.

[niccig]

Nag Nag Nag.....I told you I would nag you until you got this done. I agree with the suggestions above.

[ecofem]

I would put enough in the body of the e-mail to remind her who you are - where you met, you are a SAHM going back to work, etc. I would talk about your interests, background and skills in the body of the e-mail and use that as a springboard to reference your resume and writing sample (attached). I would follow-up with her, maybe see if she's willing to go to lunch to provide you feedback, etc.