Speech Recognition Software May Be Worth the Price Now
Speech recognition software seemed like a pipe dream for many veteran lawyers who never really learned to type. Many tried it a few years ago and found it a disappointing experience. Today, however, the technology has improved enough that even today’s law students (who probably learned to use a keyboard before they learned to ride a tricycle) are finding it valuable to use. To see how it works in a legal application, check out Robin Hood’s video on YouTube. Robin is a law student who created a video demo of using Dragon’s Naturally Speaking voice recognition software.
Before you race off to buy the software, however, you should make sure your computer has adequate processing speed and RAM. Check out the Amazon.com reviews of the software to see what real users say you need. As you know, the minimums stated on the software box rarely suffice for getting the results you are looking for. If you are interested in the software because you are such a Luddite that you need help with mere typing, you might want to get some help with the initial installation of the software and with training it to recognize your accent.
I haven’t personally tried the more current version of this software, so I can’t give you my opinion. I thought some small firm lawyers might be interested in watching the above video to see how the progam works for someone other than a salesperson. You can watch the sales video, too, which demonstrates how the software can type as fast as you speak. If you don’t want to invest in the expense of additional administrative personnel, or can’t find quality help in a small town, this software might be a bandaid for you. With a price tag of under $100, it is probably worth the price to save a little time, even if you only use it to get the first draft out of your head and onto paper.
You can still expect some misguided transcriptions now and then, however. But that can bring a little fun into your day. My friend and former Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, Bob Burton, got a good laugh from the audience when he demoed the software in a law practice management seminar for law students and new lawyers. He pretended to dictate a letter, ending it with “very truly yours.” Evidently his voice dropped off at the end, and the software typed “very hairy cheerleaders.” 
Post Date: March 10, 2008
Response to Question about Practice Management Software
“I am a solo practitioner with a very diverse practice. What software system would you recommend for keeping the basic information and notes on my files, plus allowing me to create mail out lists?”
Here is my response:
The two software programs that I see many smaller firm lawyers using successfully are Time Matters and Amicus Attorney. Both programs can help you to keep all the emails, documents, telephone calls, contact information, to-do’s, notes, etc. together by client. You can also use the programs for conflict checking, group mailouts and other practice management activities. Which program will be best for you will, of course, depend on a lot of factors, such as your comfort with technology and the nature of your practice.
These are not the only programs out there. Just the most widely used. It can be beneficial to use a popular program because it is more likely to “survive” and continue to have technical support available. Plus you will find more articles and blogs discussing capabilities, problems and solutions.
Some resources to help you make your decision:
- State Bar’s Law Practice Management Program website. There you will find a links to Product Reviews by lawyers, links to websites for technology consulting services, and other information.
- Gerry Morris’ technology column in The Practice Manager published by the State Bar of Texas (Law Practice Management Program). Gerry has written in detail about how he uses Amicus Attorney, and I think he has written about Time Matters, too. You can find the archives under the link to “Newsletter” on the Law Practice Management Program’s website. Unfortunately, the site does not currently have a mechanism for searching by topic. You can email the webmaster by submitting your questions at “Website Ideas and Suggestions” on the State Bar “contact us” page. Perhaps he can search the topic for you to direct you to the correct archived newsletters.
- The Griffing Network sells, installs and trains on software used by lawyers. They are quite knowledgeable about the features and benefits of each program, and should be able to help you determine which is best for your needs. Robin Birmingham can be reached there at (713) 789-3323 x101. She can answer a lot of your questions or direct you to the right person.
- The Griffing Network also does CLE training on legal specific software from time to time for the State Bar of Texas. You might check with the Law Practice Management Program (800-204-2222 X1300) to see when the next CLE programs will be offered.
- The Technolawyer community provides a lot of information and feedback about many products. You can search the archives or sign up for the newsletters to be emailed to you regularly. A search will turn up lots of info about Time Matters and Amicus Attorney, as well as other legal industry programs.
- Most of the legal software suppliers will provide you a demo program or allow you to run a free trial version of the software for 30-60 days. Check out their websites.
- Finally, at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in June each year, the exhibit hall always has software exhibitors. They will demo products, answer questions, and provide you with a demo cd to take back to your office.
I applaud you for taking steps to improve your productivity. I know that right at first the effort may seem to slow you down, rather than speed things up. I think the investment of your time and money will be worth it in productivity gains once you get familiar with the process.
Good luck with finding the right software for your office!
-Debra
Post Date: December 20, 2007
Event: If Your Firm Doesn’t Have a Website, It Doesn’t Exist (Feb. 22, 2007)
If Your Firm Doesn’t Have a Website, It Doesn’t Exist
Presentation with Luke Gilman
Houston Bar Association, Law Practice Management Section
February 22, 2007
For more details contact Scot Dixon, 713-758-3373, or sdixon@velaw.com
Post Date: February 22, 2007
10 Tips for Surviving the Email Avalanche
- Use automated features to sort your emails into folders as they arrive. The Outlook Rules and Alerts (under Tools) will let you create rules for automated sorting of incoming emails by sender, subject, text and other filters. Incoming messages are routed to the designated folders, which change to bold print to indicate an unread message. Set up folders (select File, New, Folder) for your clients so that you can see at a glance that you have email from them, and keep all your correspondence together. Replies to an emails in folders can be set to automatically get stored in that folder as well. You can also route newsletters, listservs and other high volume, low priority emails to special folders to keep them from clogging your inbox until you have time to read them.
- Drag and drop emails to your task icon if they have “to-do” items associated with them. The task will be included in the task list, and a copy of the email will be visible in the details window for the task. You can set a due date and reminder for the task. Delete the email or move it to a storage folder. You will get a pop-up reminder at the designated reminder time, even if you have deleted the original email. If the task is not marked as complete by the due date, it will turn red in the task list as a further reminder.
- Drag and drop emails to the calendar icon if they involve events to schedule. That will open the scheduler window and you can also associate the appointment with the appropriate contacts so that it will show up in their Outlook contact files. The subject line of the email will be reflected as the appointment description, unless you change it. A copy of the email will appear in the details of the appointment. Move the email out of your inbox to an appropriate folder, or delete it.
- Create folders for different actions to be done with respect to different emails. Drag and drop messages to one or more folders you create, such as “Needs Response,” “Take Action,” “Read Today,” “Read Later,” “Read Maybe,” “Decide,” “Follow Up,” “Delete in 30 Days,” or whatever fits your style. Use the folders to help you prioritize your email activity and get them out of your inbox. Cause the folders to appear at the top of the folder list and in the preferred order by starting the folder name with a number.
- Flag emails as a reminder of action to take. For really important and urgent items, you can use the flag feature of Outlook and set a time for an alert. Right click on the email, and choose “Flag for Follow Up.” In the “Flag to” drop down list you can choose the kind of activity you want to be reminded to do, and in the “Due by” drop down list you can choose a calendar date and time. If the due date and time passes, the email will turn red to further draw your attention to it. Unfortunately, you must leave such flagged items in the inbox for the alert feature to work, so limit its use to truly important and urgent items. You can view a demonstration video about using Outlook flags on the Microsoft website. Warning! Using this method may undermine the effectiveness of the folders described in #4 above, as their contents may become “out of sight, out of mind” if you rely too heavily on flags.
- Move emails into the appropriate folder for storage before responding. Your reply email automatically will be stored in the same folder, if you have configured Outlook to do so. Save yourself the trouble of finding the sent email and moving it for your records. You will be able to look in the folder to identify all the related correspondence activity later. To configure Outlook to save replies in the same folder, in the main Microsoft Outlook window, on the Tools menu, click Options. Click E-Mail Options, then Click Advanced E-Mail Options. Select the “In folders other than the Inbox, save replies with original message” check box.
- Use a “Delete in 30 Days” folder. Don’t leave an email you have already read in your inbox unless you have flagged it for action. If you are afraid to throw it away right now, in case you might need the information later, put it in the “Delete in 30 Days” folder. That’s a good place for notices about those seminars and offers with an expiration date that you might want to follow up on. You’ll know where to find them if you need them, and they won’t obscure your view of important items in your inbox.
- Archive periodically. This will reduce the number of emails you have to sort through in a search for a recent email, and perhaps help your computer run faster because Outlook uses a lot of memory. It will also get your network administrator to stop nagging that you need to clean out your mailbox. Archive folders are not part of your mailbox. They are stored on your hard drive. You will still be able to view your old emails easily by clicking on the Archive folder that appears beneath your other folders in Outlook. For answers to your questions about archiving, you might want to review the tutorial available on the Microsoft site at http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC010265551033.
- Use the drafts feature and the signature feature to create templates for common responses to save time. To save a draft to use as a template, just create a message in a new window without a recipient, then click on the save icon, or select File, Save As. Name the template in the subject line. Later you can open the Drafts folder, find the draft message and copy and paste the contents into your new email. Close the draft to save it again. To create a template using the signature feature, select Tools, Options, Mail Format, Signature Picker, New and then follow the instructions. Give your signature a name that identifies the template. To insert the template into an email, select Insert, Signature, and the name of the template you created.
- Have your assistant cull your email before you view it. Many assistants already open postal mail, so why not email, too? You can have your assistant delete spam (or route it to a spam folder for your deletion) and categorize your email for you in advance of your review. Give out a different email address for personal email that your assistant does not handle, if privacy is a concern. You can even have your assistant draft responses or respond for you to commonly occurring inquiries.
Post Date: February 1, 2005