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Instead of typing, you can dictate the substance of a document into your smartphone, and then send it through a speech recognition software program.
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The assigned tasks can be monitored via a smartphone application, providing some peace of mind because assignments have been received, are being acted on or are completed. When a task is urgent, you can prioritize it and follow its progress. You can also use digital dictation software to track delegated tasks or assignments in the system. Work can be easily shared or reassigned with a simple drag-and-drop function. The workflow functions of some digital dictation software can be helpful in other areas, such as reassigning work from assistants who are swamped to others who have more capacity. You can then make a voice recording of additional information, such as who attended the lunch and what topics were discussed, attach the receipt to the voice file and transmit the file to yourself to input when you are back in the office - or send it to an assistant who can enter it on your behalf. For example, as soon as you leave a client lunch, you can take a quick snapshot of the receipt with your smartphone. This is another area in which digital dictation can minimize the pain of traditional paperwork. Track and Document Expenses for Reimbursement This is particularly helpful when traveling or in court because lag time is eliminated - and you won’t need to spend the last few days of each month trying to remember every meeting and task for each client and matter. That recording can be instantaneously sent to either an assistant or a time and billing resource. With current digital dictation technology, as soon as a project is finished, you can pull out your smartphone and “tell” an app the time and billing information you want to record. Lawyers will bill and capture more time if they do so immediately after working on an assignment or leaving a meeting. Digital dictation tools can lessen that pain.
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While the practice of law has evolved in many ways over the last few decades, the pain of time and billing recording has remained constant. In fact, modern dictation tools are easily available and completely intuitive as apps for smartphones or tablets. Here are five ways dictation technology can help you to operate more efficiently and improve your billable hours - besides just dictating a memo, letter or brief. Dictation has evolved and become an active part of productive law firms. But while today’s lawyers tend to be more tech-savvy than past generations, they still use their voices to accomplish a lot every day. For many young lawyers, dictation evokes images of dusty credenzas covered with tape recorders and microphones.
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