This week, tennis pro Tim Smyczek missed an opportunity to compete at Wimbledon because he didn’t read an email all the way through.

In that spirit, this column contains both tips and warnings related to records-access laws and ensuring that lawyers and journalists not only read them, but maximize the use of these laws. For lawyers and the C-suite, international transparency law strategies will serve as a warning. For journalists, well, consider it your news tip for the month.