Definition
The interchange of written communications between two or more parties — comprising both the messages sent and the replies received. In legal usage, correspondence refers to the body of written exchanges, whether by letter, memorandum, email, or other medium, that may serve as evidence of intent, agreement, notice, or the course of dealing between parties. The term encompasses:
1. Documentary evidence. The written record of communications introduced in litigation or administrative proceedings to establish facts, demonstrate knowledge, or show the state of mind of the parties.
2. Privileged correspondence. Written communications protected from compelled disclosure under attorney-client privilege, spousal privilege, or similar doctrines. The protection attaches to the communication itself, not merely its subject matter.
3. Regulatory and administrative correspondence. Formal written exchanges between a party and a government agency — including notices of deficiency, audit letters, and agency determinations — that trigger statutory deadlines or create a formal record.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Mutual communication or discourse; reciprocal exchange of civilities, especially by means of letters; postal or other written communications; also, general congruity or similarity between different things.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Friendly intercourse and reciprocal exchange of civilities, especially between persons by means of letters; also the letters themselves which pass between correspondents.
The gap matters here. In ordinary English, correspondence implies an ongoing, reciprocal exchange — a back-and-forth conversation in writing. In legal usage, a single letter can constitute correspondence, and the significance often lies not in the exchange as a whole but in one specific communication: when it was sent, whether it was received, and what it disclosed or demanded. Researchers should not assume that legal references to "correspondence" require a completed exchange — one party's unanswered letter may be legally operative on its own.
Common Confusion
Correspondence vs. communication. These terms overlap but are not identical. Communication is the broader category — it includes oral statements, conduct, and electronic data. Correspondence is a subset: written, recorded exchanges. When a privilege doctrine or discovery rule references "correspondence," it may exclude oral communications that would otherwise fall within "communications." Check the operative rule or statute carefully.
Correspondence vs. notice. A formal notice is a specific legal act intended to trigger rights or obligations. Correspondence is the broader category of written exchange within which notices may appear. A letter can simultaneously be correspondence and constitute legal notice, but not all correspondence rises to the level of notice.
Why It Matters in Research
The term's legal significance has expanded dramatically with the digitization of communication. Historical sources define correspondence exclusively in terms of letters and written replies. Modern practice extends the concept to email, text messages, instant messaging, and electronic document exchanges — all of which courts have treated as correspondence for evidentiary and discovery purposes. Researchers working with pre-digital sources should be aware that the medium has changed but the underlying legal analysis (authenticity, privilege, notice, admissibility) has largely carried forward.
Privilege research is a primary trap. Whether a piece of correspondence is protected depends on who the parties are, the purpose of the communication, and whether privilege was waived. Historical dictionary sources treat privilege in passing (Bouvier directs readers to LETTER and COPYRIGHT; Anderson sends researchers to COMMUNICATION, Privileged). Neither provides the doctrinal scaffolding researchers need. Supplement historical dictionaries with privilege treatises and jurisdiction-specific case law.
Discovery and production contexts require attention to form. In modern federal practice, correspondence (however mediated) is discoverable electronically stored information (ESI) subject to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 and Rule 34. Historical sources predate ESI doctrine entirely.
Administrative correspondence carries independent legal weight. In tax and regulatory matters, the timing and content of agency correspondence — IRS notices, deficiency letters, audit inquiries — determines deadlines, tolls statutes of limitation, and can foreclose defenses. A researcher treating agency correspondence as merely informational rather than legally operative will miss critical procedural consequences.
Copyright and correspondence. Bouvier's cross-reference to COPYRIGHT is not a stray citation. The author of a letter holds copyright in its contents; the recipient holds the physical object. This distinction arises in literary estate matters, archival research, and publication disputes. The cross-reference reflects a genuine tension that persists in modern law.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's (both editions) and Bouvier agree on the core definition: the interchange of written communications, encompassing both letters sent and answers received. The definitions are nearly identical across editions, suggesting the term was not contested or evolving in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century legal vocabulary — it described a settled, familiar category of documentary evidence.
Anderson's entry is purely referential, directing readers to COMMUNICATION, Privileged, and LETTER — a structure that reflects how the term functioned in practice: not as a standalone legal concept but as a category that gains its significance from the doctrines governing privilege and letter-writing.
What the historical sources collectively miss is the question of medium. All sources assume paper letters. None anticipate the forensic, evidentiary, and privilege questions raised by digital communication. Researchers should treat the historical definitions as capturing the concept's logic, not its current scope.
Jurisdictional Note
Federal courts and most states treat correspondence as discoverable in litigation subject to applicable privilege doctrine, with no special status beyond other documentary evidence. However, specific regulatory regimes — IRS correspondence audits, SEC no-action letters, state agency proceedings — may assign correspondence particular procedural significance under their own rules. Always identify the governing framework before assessing the legal weight of a specific exchange.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
IRS Audit Correspondence Audits (The Law Mind Tax Encyclopedia) — directly relevant to correspondence as a formal administrative medium with statutory and procedural consequences in federal tax examination.