Word Specialists Can Optimise Legal Document Production

markhope61
Apr 25
7 min read

Outsourcing the more complex aspects of document production can offer a number of significant benefits for law firms, in-house legal teams, or barristers and their chambers.

Standard Documents, Precedents & Templates

Are you repeatedly using the same document precedent or copying and pasting standard paragraphs into your documents? If so, creating standardised templates could be a solution that enhances both consistency and quality in the documents produced by your practice. Additionally, this approach can save time, thus improving overall productivity.

At times, a fresh perspective on what works for your practice may be all that is needed. A document specialist can help you identify the most efficient solutions.

Word Formatting

Are you encountering issues with your Microsoft Word documents? Are you struggling to correct automatic numbering or ensure it runs sequentially? If you do, you are not alone.

Advanced document production features such as tables of contents, internal cross-referencing, fields, applying styles and hyperlinking can often be a challenge. For some legal professionals, even tasks such as automatic numbering, tabulation, and section breaks can be problematic.

A recent survey highlighted the following challenges faced by legal professionals:

30 per cent of respondents stated they often find applying numbering difficult.
29 per cent reported challenges in ensuring that indentations are aligned properly.
Almost 25 per cent indicated frequent difficulties in updating a document to match the firm’s house style.

Document templates should be user-friendly for everyone, including those with basic Word skills. They should be easy to use for both in-house staff and third-party collaborators. If document users and collaborators find it difficult to apply your house style, it is clear that the template is not fit for purpose. A house style needs to align with the skills of the users to ensure effective document production. The same principle applies to features such as automatic numbering, cross-referencing and tables of contents.

The last thing you want is a document being amended by another user or collaborator and then returned to you with broken formatting. You need to ensure that collaborators can work seamlessly on the document while maintaining consistent formatting. The last thing your practice needs is the additional cost and time involved in fixing documents that have been returned from third parties in disarray.

This is where a document production technician can provide valuable assistance.

Version Control

Staff handbooks, HR documents, policy documents and operational handbooks should be strictly controlled. Therefore, effective document version control practices are necessary, as well as some form of document protection.

Document version control ensures that your practice keeps all important files organised and that everyone is aware of which version is the latest. This can save time by eliminating the need for staff to sift through multiple versions to find the most current one.

A well-organised version control system prevents employees from inadvertently working on outdated documents. In addition to creating a file naming convention, a document technician will ensure that each document contains a version control coversheet, allowing anyone accessing the document to immediately see the correct version. For printed materials, version control numbering can also appear on each page.

A document specialist can advise you on the most effective approach for version control, depending on your specific needs.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

The primary advantage of PDF files is their compatibility across all devices. However, there are instances when it may be necessary to convert a PDF to Word, for example, if you need to:

Create an editable copy of a document for reuse or repurposing.
Extract editable sections of text from the original document for further use.

Conversely, you may wish to convert a Word document into a PDF to send to someone who does not have access to Microsoft Word®. In such cases, a document specialist can provide assistance.

Conversion from PDF to Word

Not all PDFs are created equally. While some PDFs can be easily converted to Microsoft Word, others may pose challenges. This is particularly true when a document is in PDF format as a result of being scanned or when image files are embedded.

When conversion is possible, the issue lies in the fact that the formatting from the original document is often lost. Sometimes, Word uses optical character recognition (OCR) to convert the PDF into text. If the document has been poorly scanned, the OCR may produce text that is garbled or completely inaccurate. This can result in significant errors in the converted Word document.

After converting a PDF to Word, it may still require significant effort to make the document usable. In some cases, it may be more efficient for a typist to retype the document from scratch rather than attempt to fix the errors created during conversion.

Moreover, if the PDF is protected, it cannot be converted unless the password is known.

A professional document specialist can examine your document and advise you on the most effective method for conversion.

Conversion from Word to PDF

A document specialist can also help format Word documents so that they can be converted into PDFs. If you need to convert a Word document to PDF, they can guide you on how to structure the document to achieve optimal results in the PDF format.

PDF Forms

PDF forms are an effective way to collect data from clients or customers. A document specialist can assist in creating interactive PDF forms that can be filled out electronically.

Advantages of PDF fillable forms include:

User Interaction: Unlike traditional paper forms, PDF forms allow users to select dates from automated calendar controls, answer questions via radio buttons, drop-down lists, or checkboxes, making them far more convenient and user-friendly.
Graphic Precision: Because PDF forms are built around Adobe PDF, they retain the layout, typography, and graphic quality across different devices, ensuring that your forms look exactly as intended.
Data Handling: One of the key benefits of PDF fillable forms is the ability to import and export structured data efficiently. Data can be imported from a database and exported from forms into a structured format for easy processing.

A document specialist can create professional PDF forms using Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Copy Typing

There are occasions when professionals prefer to draft documents by hand or in a different format and later require the content to be typed up. This is particularly useful when the document exists solely in physical form and an editable, digital version is needed. In such cases, a professional copy typist can quickly transcribe handwritten or non-editable documents, allowing you to focus on other tasks.

Having a document copy typed is far cheaper than a Solicitor typing it themselves. Imagine you have a 10,000 word document that needs to be typed. If you type at an average speed of 40 words per minute (wpm) and have a charge-out rate of £300 per hour, it would take you 250 minutes (just over 4 hours) to complete the task. That amounts to £1,250 in lost chargeable time. Now, compare this with a professional typist from OutSec Legal. They can complete the same document in approximately 143 minutes (just under 2.5 hours). At a rate of £0.45 per minute, the total cost would be £64.35 plus VAT (£12.87). That is a saving of over £1,172. Not to mention the invaluable benefit of freeing up your time to focus on what you do best: serving your clients or growing your practice.

How Can OutSec Legal's Document Specialists Help?

In the legal profession, it is essential to have perfectly formatted documents to facilitate the work you do. Whether you need an invoice, file note, meeting note, letterhead, a document technician can ensure that your documents meet the required standards. A document production technician can review your current documents, suggest improvements and provide you with updated templates tailored to your practice’s needs.

OutSec Legal takes great pride in its team of skilled document technicians, who possess in-depth knowledge of Microsoft Word and its more advanced features.

By outsourcing your document production to OutSec Legal, you can ensure that your documents are consistently and professionally formatted. Our technicians meticulously review every document to identify inconsistencies, errors, and formatting issues, helping to prevent mistakes that may otherwise go unnoticed by solicitors who regularly review complex documents.

Whether you require assistance with individual documents, need a comprehensive reformatting of your precedent bank, or wish to outsource your document production entirely, our bespoke solutions are designed to meet the specific requirements of your practice.

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 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.