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Simplify Your Document Creation Changing the way you work may seem daunting, but there are several small changes you can implement that will have a big impact on your time and ability to deliver top-notch client service. 1. Talk, don’t type 2. Leverage smartphone apps

USING TECHNOLOGY FOR SMARTER DOCUMENT CREATION

3. Embrace the cloud 4. Streamline workflow

By Jami Gyurci

Gain visibility of your team’s workload. There are so many

Creating a legal document is one of the most time-con- suming duties that attorneys tackle during any working day. The need to create pleadings, agreements, letters, memos and many other kinds of legal documents remains a criti- cal part of the legal process. Fortunately, the way in which documents can be created has evolved, so this traditionally tedious task can be completed much more efficiently. By leveraging the latest digital dictation tools, smartphone apps and flexible cloud-based technologies, firms can greatly streamline the document creation process and reap significant rewards including lower overhead, greater efficiency, increased billable hours, improved client service and cost savings. Digital Dictation & Speech-Recognition Tools One of the greatest efficiency enhancers in recent years involves the substantial improvements in digital dictation and speech-recognition software. With the right technology, assistants often can improve efficiency between 50 and 75 percent. Many products are extraordinarily accurate and unlike old-fashioned dictation tapes, assistants can split transcription work into separate pieces even when it exists as one electronic file. This means multiple transcribers can work together on different sections of a single file, which was impossible with tape. Digital Dictation in the Palm of Your Hand Taking advantage of smartphone apps is one of the quickest ways to ease the document creation process. Digital dictation smartphone apps developed specifically for law firms allow attorneys to record notes on the go, whether they’re on the way to a meeting or waiting at the airport. With some apps, assistants receive dictations and files from the attorneys immediately, allowing them to start working right away — there’s no need to wait for the attorney to return to the office and deliver a pile of tapes or dock their dictation device. This helps the attorneys to work more efficiently by empowering them to turn previously unproductive downtime into billable hours. Leverage the Cloud Cloud-based technology also plays a big part in simplifying and streamlining document creation. For smaller firms,

which typically lack the robust infrastructure and IT staff of large firms, cloud technology allows users to share documents more easily so they can

options available to improve your work and processes, and now is the time to make the changes to your document production process that will ensure efficiency and profitability long into the future.

collaborate on files an d improve workflow . When choosing a new cloud-technology, it’s essential that firms check that their technology partner offers the data security features required to protect their client information. What’s Your Workflow? Does your firm currently have an efficient and effective business process workflow system? Workflows can be deployed to create documents more efficiently and keep attorneys and staff from getting overwhelmed at busy times, for example when attorneys and their teams are preparing for a trial. Some of the new software tools include task delegation functionality, so important work can easily be entered, assigned and tracked. This type of technology gives visibility of which staff have availability to step in and help, and which are overloaded. In addition, when assistants are out sick or on vacation, these tools can help management to redirect work or expedite urgent tasks. New technologies and processes can relieve staff and attorneys frommuch of the drudgery of document creation, allowing them to spend more time on strategic work. Instituting change within a law firm can be daunting, so it’s helpful to remember that the core ideas behind document creation will remain the same. Equally important to remember is that the workflow for the attorney changes very little. A few small changes can reap great rewards both for the users and for the business. Jami Gyurci is the Senior Marketing Manager at BigHand M: 651 747 7206 | www.bighand.com Recognized as the Number One Digital Dictation Solution and Macro / Template Solution in the 2017 ILTA Technology Survey

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