Lower Costs with OutSec | Crystal Clara App
- markhope61
- Jul 24
- 5 min read
Every law firm is looking for ways to improve efficiency, reduce overheads and give fee earners more time to focus on clients. Yet one area is often overlooked: how legal documents are created.
Many firms still rely on traditional dictation systems that require expensive hardware, annual software licences and ongoing IT support. Others have moved away from dictation altogether, with fee earners typing their own documents.
But here is a question worth asking:
Just because you can type your own documents, does that mean you should?
The Washing Machine Principle
Think about doing the laundry. You could wash every item of clothing by hand after all, people have done it for generations. But most of us wouldn't dream of it.
Why? Because a washing machine does the hard work for us. It is faster, more efficient and frees us up to spend time doing things that add far more value.
Typing your own legal documents is much the same. Every minute spent typing bespoke attendance notes, file notes, correspondence, emails, witness statements is time that could be spent advising clients, progressing matters or generating billable work. Dictation, combined with professional legal transcription, takes care of the administrative task while you concentrate on practising law.
The question is therefore not whether you can type your own documents; it is how much time, and money, you are losing your legal practice by doing it yourself.
Time Really Is Money in the Legal World
Research consistently shows that dictation is significantly faster than typing, with many professionals able to dictate up to four times faster than they can type for the simple reason we can speak faster than we can type. That can translate into productivity improvements of around 40%.
So, imagine being a fee earner that spends just two hours every day typing emails, correspondence and bespoke documents. By dictating instead, they could reclaim around 90 minutes every day! That extra time could be spent:
Advising clients
Progressing more matters
Increasing billable hours
Reducing backlogs
Improving client service
Or simply finishing the day with less administrative pressure
Now consider what that time is worth.
At a charge-out rate of £150 per hour, reclaiming 90 minutes a day equates to around £225 of additional fee-earning capacity every day, or approximately £48,000 per year (after deducing OutSec Legal's costs of transcribing the work!).
For a solicitor charging £300 per hour, that opportunity rises to almost £96,000 annually.
Those figures are after factoring in the cost of OutSec Legal's professional transcription service and having the work transcribed at our standard rate.
This is where transcription stops being an expense and becomes an investment in your law firm's productivity.
The Hidden Cost of Traditional Dictation
Even firms that already use digital dictation are often paying far more than they realise. Traditional systems typically involve:
Dedicated digital dictaphones for fee earners
Annual software licences
Workflow management systems
Transcription software
Foot pedals and specialist headsets
Software maintenance
IT support
User training
Server integration
Professional digital dictation devices alone typically cost somewhere between £250 and £600 or more per user, while annual software licences can add £80 to £180+ per user every year. Multiply those costs across partners, solicitors, legal executives and support staff, and the investment quickly becomes significant. Then add the hidden costs of software updates, licence management, hardware replacement and IT support. It is easy to see how a seemingly simple dictation system becomes an expensive part of a firm's technology stack.
A Simpler Approach: The OutSec | Crystal Clara Dictation App
At OutSec Legal, we asked a simple question:
Why should firms continue buying specialist hardware when every solicitor already carries a powerful recording device in their pocket? Their smartphone or tablet.
That is why we developed the OutSec | Crystal Clara dictation app which is free to all OutSec Legal clients.
The OutSec | Crystal Clara dictation app allows legal professionals to dictate securely from their Apple or Android smartphone and send recordings directly to our experienced legal transcription team.
There are:
No dedicated dictaphones to purchase
No expensive software licences
No transcription modules
No workflow software
No workstation upgrades
No annual renewal fees
No complicated installations
If your team already has a smartphone, then they are ready to dictate.
Remove More Than Just Hardware Costs
Because OutSec Legal provides the transcription service, firms also eliminate the need for dedicated transcription infrastructure.
There is no need to purchase separate transcription software, foot pedals, specialist headsets or workflow licences.
Recordings are securely submitted through the OutSec | Crystal Clara dictation app and are professionally transcribed by our legal typing specialists which are returned promptly.
It is a streamlined workflow that reduces technology costs while removing administrative burden from fee earners and support staff alike.
Less Technology, More Productivity
Another often overlooked saving is IT support. Traditional dictation systems require installation, updates, licence management, user support and ongoing maintenance.
The OutSec | Crystal Clara dictation app is maintained by OutSec, meaning firms benefit from continuous improvements without replacing hardware or managing complex software deployments.
Less technology to maintain means fewer headaches for your IT team.
Modern Dictation for Modern Law Firms
Whether you are in the office, at court, working from home or travelling between meetings, The OutSec | Crystal Clara dictation app allows you to dictate wherever you are.
Your recordings are securely transmitted to OutSec Legal, professionally transcribed by experienced legal transcription specialists and returned promptly.
The process is simple, secure and designed around the way lawyers actually work today.
The Real Saving Isn't the Equipment and Technological costs
Reducing the cost of hardware and software is important.
Removing annual licence fees is valuable.
Eliminating IT maintenance is another welcome benefit.
But the biggest saving isn't even the technological save.
It is giving highly skilled legal professionals back the time they currently spend typing their own documents. Because your lawyers weren't hired to type and produce documents. They were hired for their legal skills to advise clients, solve legal problems and practise the law.
Modern dictation, combined with professional legal transcription, removes unnecessary administration, increases productivity and allows fee earners to focus on the work that really matters.
If your firm is still investing in expensive dictation equipment, or if your fee earners are typing their own documents, it may be time to rethink your workflow. Sometimes the smartest investment isn't buying more technology.
For more practical insights on legal practice management and growth, follow us on LinkedIn. We regularly share business and practice management insights designed to help our clients strengthen and scale their businesses, because when our clients grow, we grow with them.
About OutSec Legal
At OutSec Legal, our services are designed to support legal professionals by providing reliable and high quality legal transcription, allowing your practice to focus on clients and fee production. Whether your practice needs help with day-to-day transcription or support during busy periods, our pay-as-you-go option enables legal practices of all shapes and sizes to access support as and when they need it.
So What Are The Benefits?
Sole Practitioners/Barristers/Small Law Practices:
OutSec Legal is the perfect solution for sole practitioners, small law firms or barristers who need typing assistance on a pay-as-you-go basis, as it provides a cheaper alternative to employment.
Medium to Large Law Practices:
Medium to large law firms use OutSec Legal to:
Reduce secretarial staff (completely or partially). This reduces the need for expensive office space (or enables space to be utilised for more productive use/fee generation);
Allow fee earners to concentrate on chargeable hour targets, rather than typing emails or amending documents;
Provide an effective solution to enable your fee-earning staff to work remotely. Therefore providing further opportunities to reduce expensive office space or increase your fee earner headcount with less space. It enables flexible working and makes law firms more agile;
Provide a business continuity solution to enable law firms to access secretarial staff in times of absence.
Enable firms to upscale support as the firm grows or at times of high workloads, without the need for employing additional staff.
Want to know more, why not get in touch with us at sales@outsec.co.uk.
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