BigHand SmartNote White Paper - Work Smarter Not Harder

WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER: BIGHAND SMARTNOTE
Make
Big
Happen
How automating procedures with
voice technolology leads to better resourcing,
mobility and BIG efficiency for law firms

Introduction
“Speech is power: speech is to persuade,
to convert, to compel.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The power of the voice was revered in ancient times, with
orators such as Demosthenes and Cicero (also a lawyer)
inspiring the public with their rousing public speeches.
The invention of the quill pen, ink and paper, printing
press, typewriter, and then finally computers led to a
surge in written communication and enhanced document
production technologies.
Now, with the unprecedented growth of voice technology,
smartphones and speech recognition systems, we’re using
our voice again - to save time and money and to increase
the efficiency of our workflow.
This White Paper considers the power of voice technology
and the rise of digital dictation, voice and speech solutions
in the legal industry and illustrates how BigHand’s
SmartNote technology, which automates the production
and storage of routine documents (such as file and
attendance notes), is allowing firms and organisations to
work smarter, not harder.
We’ll examine how a respected Queensland law firm
successfully implemented BigHand SmartNote, in
conjunction with BigHand Speech Recognition, to improve
efficiency, effectiveness, mobility and workflow in its
practice.

THE POWER OF
USING YOUR VOICE:
THE RISE OF SPEECH,
VOICE AND DIGITAL
DICTATION TECHNOLOGY

“WE BELIEVE THAT SPEAKING IS THE MOST
EFFICIENT WAY OF CAPTURING YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT DEVELOPING
PRODUCTS THAT USE THE POWER OF SPEECH TO
GET THINGS DONE FASTER.”
BigHand
It seems we’ve come full circle with using our voice – from Cicero,
the famous orator, lawyer and philosopher in ancient Greece, to
the early 1800s when barristers gave impassioned legal arguments
to crowded public courts and watching trials was theatre for the
masses to 20th century digital dictation.
As a range of document production methods were introduced
over the years (paper, printing, storage, copying, faxing), written
communication assumed priority with digital dictation only
emerging in the 1990s.
Since that time, the internet and social media platforms have
exploded and the willingness to use our voice to create documents
has waxed and waned a little. Many of us are much more
comfortable clicking away at our keyboard, composing a written
email, tweeting our favourite quote or typing up a Word document
than we are at communicating our message orally.
The tides, however, have turned. More and more, we’re seeing
lawyers beginning to use their voice again to create and edit legal
documents (correspondence, case notes, file notes, briefs, etc). It’s
finally dawned on us all that it is much faster to use our voice, than
to type away at a computer. In fact, talking is three times more
efficient than typing.

DID YOU KNOW THAT HUMANS TALK
AT A SPEED OF 175WPM AND ONLY
TYPE AT 60WPM ON AVERAGE?
Law firms and legal departments can deploy speech solutions to
speed up document turnaround, streamline repetitive workflows
and reduce transcription costs without having to alter existing
information, document management systems or business
processes.
According to the International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA)
2014 Technology Survey, which involved the input of 454 firms
globally, the overall number of law firms using voice recognition tools
is growing rapidly, climbing close to 20 percentage points over the
past four years.

SO IT’S OFFICIAL: VOICE IS ON THE UP. ACCORDING
TO THE 2014 ILTA TECHNOLOGY SURVEY,
THE NUMBER OF LAW FIRMS USING SPEECH
RECOGNITION TOOLS HAS INCREASED BY 20% IN 4
YEARS.
As law is one of the many industries being disrupted by technology
innovations, corporate legal teams and law firms are rethinking their
internal practices to remain nimble and competitive.
Software that can convert voice files into
documents with ease and speed and link to
existing practice management systems is literally
changing the way we work, helping lawyers to:
– Boost billable time
– Improve client services
– Save time and reduce costs
– Better manage workloads
– Decrease dependence on administrative
staff for routine tasks
– Work more efficiently and effectively in their
daily practice
– Use their time and intellectual capital
productively, and
– Achieve a better work/life balance
Voice productivity technology is fast becoming a ‘game changer’ in
the legal industry.

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald in May 2015, Australian
and international law firms using voice-recognition software include
Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Minter Ellison, King & Wood Mallesons,
Norton Rose, Maurice Blackburn, and HWL Ebsworth who
estimates voice technology has saved the firm hiring at least two
administrative staff members.
Having developed a range of speech, task delegation, document
creation and workflow products for over 20 years, BigHand strongly
believes in using the power of speech to capture your thoughts
faster and more effectively.
By relying on speech once more, firms and corporate legal teams
can streamline documentation efforts, freeing up more time to
focus on what really matters.
This is where BigHand’s SmartNote comes into play: with this type
of technology, you not only leverage voice and speech recognition
solutions, you have the ability to automate workflow processes and
integrate the technology into your existing document management
system.
So why do firms need technology solutions like BigHand
SmartNote? Let’s examine the primary pain points and problems
experienced by lawyers and administrative staff throughout the
industry.

HOW MANY FIRMS ARE USING BIGHAND DIGITAL
DICTATION PRODUCTS?
23% LAW FIRMS WORLDWIDE
75% OF THE TOP 50 LAW FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 1
Legal Industry Pain Points
The time and cost involved in documenting client and case
information, from submissions to contracts to trial briefs, as well as
attendances at meetings, client offices and court, can be
overwhelming.
Many firms rely on external transcription services and traditional
administrative support staff, both of which can eat into productivity
and profits.
In a document heavy industry, what are the pain points and problems
that lawyers and firms want solved on a day-to-day basis?
• Increased client demands and time pressures
We now live in a hyper-connected, fast-paced ‘on demand
economy’ where consumers want more for less and they want it
now. Clients are requesting much faster turnaround times,
competitive rates and better client service. Small to medium
firms competing in a global market are trying to cut costs and
hourly rates while delivering high quality legal services to their
clients.
• Employees want flexibility and mobility
To retain talented staff, firms need to be able to offer employees
work/life balance and flexible working options from
telecommuting to various forms of leave to part-time or shared
job arrangements and the chance to work from home
occasionally.
1 ILTA Technology Survey 2014

• High costs of administrative support and resourcing
How can we reduce hiring and staffing costs and make
employees more productive? Why do firms pay qualified
legal assistants to type up documents when he or she
could be performing billable work and leveraging his or her
skill set for profitability? A lack of proper resourcing in law
firms to cover volume of administrative work and
overdependence on support staff to complete routine
tasks is a major problem for the legal industry.
• Reduced profits due to slow workflow and inefficient
processes
Firms are struggling to increase profits when faced with
inefficient workflow processes, leading to the ineffective
use of lawyers’ and administrative staff’s valuable time.
Many costs simply cannot be passed on to clients.
• Lost art of communication, particularly for ‘Next Gen’
lawyers
A recent discussion panel, featuring lawyers from leading
law firms including Maurice Blackburn, Hunt & Hunt,
Norton Rose Fulbright and Carroll O’Dea Lawyers,
identified the growing dependence of lawyers, and
particularly young lawyers, on typing to express their ideas
in written form as an issue of real concern. Whilst lawyers
have been using dictation for years, millenials who are well
versed in text messages and email communication have
often shunned old-school dictation in favour of typing
emails and Word documents, believing it to be a 20th
century practice.
As identified in ALPMA’s article on written communication,
technology is making us re-think how we work and what kinds
of tools we use to maximise our productivity and to ensure that
younger lawyers are developing the oral skills they need to
communicate and succeed.

ABOUT BIGHAND SMARTNOTE
BigHand
SmartNote
So we understand the pain points for lawyers – how is BigHand
helping to solve them with SmartNote?
As you know, law firms are required to keep up to date records of all
client interactions in order to comply with regulatory bodies like the
Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority. To comply, practitioners need a fast
and easy way to record or document meetings, calls and written
communications so that they can refer back to their notes if
required, produce the note if called upon to do so down the track
and can resolve future queries about events or conferences.
How often do you have to look back at or refer to these notes? Well,
pretty rarely. So even though firms are required to comply and want
to achieve best practice, they often struggle to manage the
administrative overheads associated with compliance. The
secretarial cost of creating all of these documents is significant
whilst providing little value to the firm.
Using workflow and automation technology, BigHand’s SmartNote
solution is the answer to your document production woes: it
integrates with BigHand’s Speech Recognition to fully automate the
document production process.
The system identifies the file note and matter details from the
dictation and uses a pre-set document template to generate the
content. The completed documents are then saved along with a
copy of the original digital dictation audio file in the relevant location
in the firm’s document management system.

How does speech recognition fit in with the system? BigHand’s
Speech Recognition technology automatically converts voice into
text, enabling you to create whole documents by just using your
voice. It builds up a speech profile for each user’s voice to deliver
outstanding accuracy.
The result? Far less resources are required to process documents
quickly, and it lifts the burden of writing hundreds of file, attendance
and telephone notes by automating the process from start to finish.
An added benefit of this streamlined document production process
is that, with the time saved, practitioners and legal assistants can
dedicate their time to completing higher value tasks.
Other useful features include:
• Integrations: BigHand SmartNote features an out-of-the box
integration with document management system, iManage Work
(versions 8.5 and 9), This means completed documents can be
saved against your client or matter information in iManage and you
can search for or archive for future reference.
• SmartRouter: BigHand SmartRouter module lets you route
documents that cannot be filed automatically to your admin team
who can process them manually.
• Intelligent Work Routing: BigHand’s workflow system looks at
the document in order to establish its priority and destination,
saving manual work.
• Audio File Expert: You can store a copy of the digital dictation
audio in a compressed, encrypted format alongside the SmartNote
document so that you can proofread the content later on.

The solution is aimed at faster document turnaround times and a
more efficient workflow to allow secretaries and lawyers to get on
with completing high priority and high value jobs.
And yet critics of voice technology who may have tried speech
recognition software a decade ago may be wondering if new
technologies will actually work. Other firms and lawyers embrace
dictation but are still using tape recorders and handheld devices that
require physical docking as well as heavy reliance on legal assistants
– these systems can also be expensive, slow and hard to replace
when they fail.
So how does it work in practice and how can you implement it into
your firm or organisation? A seamless rollout, solid training and
support and whole firm buy-in are important when you’re looking at
new products and technologies.
Let’s take a look at an Australian law firm that recently implemented
BigHand SmartNote with Speech Recognition with great success.
BigHand SmartNote:
– Meets legal regulatory requirements
– Saves time
– Reduces administrative costs
– Gives lawyers the freedom to work flexibly

2015 CASE STUDY: MULLINS LAWYERS
Organisation:
Brisbane-based law firm with nearly 100 staff
Challenge:
Mullins Lawyers wanted to create a more efficient workflow, offer
lawyers mobility, place less pressure on administrative staff and
deliver faster, better client service.
Solution:
To adopt a system that combined digital dictation, automation,
voice and speech technology.
Trial:
Mullins’ Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Stephen
van Dorp, had been investigating speech recognition technology
since 2013 and highlighted its benefits to the partners. After the
BigHand trial, where selected staff saw the results of the technology,
the user-friendly voice and speech technology “sold itself”.
Mullins Lawyers was the first Australian firm to roll out the BigHand
solution in March 2015.

“From the fee earners to the legal secretaries, every single person
was positive about the system”, says Stephen.
“We had zero negative feedback after the trial.”
Implementation and Firm Buy-In:
Mullins Lawyers took an “all in” approach to the technology,
implementing the technology throughout the firm for all fee earners
to use. The firm now uses BigHand SmartNote from any mobile
device with BigHand Go, creating simple access to a defined process
that utilises the increased efficiency of BigHand Dictate with Speech
Recognition. BigHand SmartNote is a key process that enables
efficient document production without a support person needing to
action the steps for file and attendance notes.
Enjoying seamless implementation after the trial, the firm has seen
excellent results with reduced document turnaround times, more
administrative capacity and happier staff to boot.

Results:
Faster Turnaround Times: 300% Increase in Efficiency!
Documents that used to take 3 ½ minutes to type (per 1 minute of
dictation) now take around 1.1 minutes.
“The speed of document turnaround times was one of the main
attractions for us”, says Stephen.
“The secretaries love the system because they do not have to sit
around typing all day and it frees up their time for tasks such as filing,
scanning or copying documents or, importantly, more substantial
high priority jobs.”
“And as a firm, we are interested in anything that will help our lawyers
do a better job. This technology increases the efficiency of the
important task of writing quality notes. All of this contributes to
better results for our clients.”
Penny Bauer, a legal assistant at Mullins, agrees.
“It saves time with shortcuts, especially with long worded dictations
which gives your fingers a break from typing”, says Penny.
DOCUMENTS TAKE 300% LESS TIME TO PRODUCE
THAN THEY USED TO TAKE.
“THE SPEED OF DOCUMENT TURNAROUND TIMES WAS
ONE OF THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS FOR US.”
STEPHEN VAN DORP, CFO & COO, MULLINS LAWYERS

Better Resourcing: Increased Effectiveness
With no more “resourcing” calls to HR from support staff requesting
help with typing or document production, as the BigHand
technology provides adequate support, legal assistants can now
focus on other administrative tasks and from a risk management
perspective, the firm does not have to worry about delays in
attendance notes or correspondence hitting the files or document
errors that result from time pressures.
Rather than viewing BigHand technology as a way of “cutting costs”
or reducing support staff, Stephen explains that it is more about
increased effectiveness.
During a growth phase, the firm can increase the number of fee
earners without adding to the existing administrative team. With
three secretaries having left recently, the firm has saved on rehiring
costs so the system has “already paid for itself”, says Stephen.

Law on the Run: More Mobility
What do the fee earners say about BigHand SmartNote? The
lawyers at Mullins love the ability to dictate and send draft file notes
straight to their inbox from the server.
In an atmosphere of increased time and client demands, fee earners
can dictate on their smartphones as they return to the office (or as
they sit poolside in Fiji, like one busy Partner!) and the draft file note
is delivered straight to their Inbox within a matter of minutes. No
need for dictation docking or an assistant.
“The system’s mobility really got the lawyers over the line”, says
Stephen.
“It also reduced their dependence on support staff.”
“The system’s mobility really got the lawyers over the line. It
also reduced their dependence on support staff.”
Stephen van Dorp, CFO & COO, Mullins Lawyers

A STORY FROM THE FRONTLINE:
“I LOVE THE FACT THAT I CAN PRODUCE DOCUMENTS
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE USING BIGHAND’S SPEECH
RECOGNITION SOFTWARE. THIS HAS IMPROVED MY
OUTPUT IMMENSELY AND HAS MADE IT A LOT EASIER TO
MANAGE MY DAY. IF MY DAUGHTER IS SICK AND I NEED TO
LEAVE WORK EARLY, IT’S NOT A PROBLEM AS I CAN NOW
STILL WORK AND DICTATE FROM HOME. IF I NEED TO DO
A COURT DOCUMENT URGENTLY OVERNIGHT BUT
DON’T HAVE ASSISTANCE, I CAN JUST DO IT MYSELF
FROM HOME!”
CHRIS HERRALD, ASSOCIATE, MULLINS LAWYERS
Seamless Back Office: Better Workflow
The firm has been impressed by what BigHand SmartNote allows
the team to do from a reporting, back office, reporting and workflow
perspective. The management team and staff can track the
progress of work and assistants can see who is completing which
tasks so that they can ‘self-regulate’. The flow-on benefits for
collaboration and teamwork are noticeable to Mullins’ employees.
“It enables you to work as a team as you can easily pick up other
dictations in your team and across the firm”, says Penny.

Key Benefits for Mullins
– Much faster document turnaround, better
workflow
– More effective staff, increased process
efficiency
– Create documents anywhere, anytime
– Speedy file note delivery to the fee earner’s
email inbox
– Legal secretaries have more capacity for
other tasks with extra time in their day
– Helps with administrative resourcing, less
rehiring costs
– Improved mobility and efficiency for
employees

SOLVING THE PROBLEM: HOW BIGHAND SMARTNOTE HELPS
YOU TO WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
How does the solution help you work smarter,
not harder?
What are the commercial and business
benefits?
– Better use of resources
– Increase efficiency and effectiveness
– Improve client service
– More flexibility and mobility
– Cost savings
– Helps with administrative resourcing, less
rehiring costs
– Improved mobility and efficiency for
employees

Better use of resources
Support teams are freed up to perform other high priority tasks and
have time to complete the work they may not complete on time
when they are faced with transcription pressures. As your practice
grows, you may be able to hire more lawyers without needing to hire
more secretaries.
So is there any need to worry about administrative assistants ending
up on the chopping block due to speech and voice technology?
In the 2013 report Digital Disruption: Short Fuse, Big Bang?, Deloitte
explored the impact of new disruptive technologies on traditional
industries, finding that even for those sectors that had already
adapted to digital technologies, “there is plenty more disruption
ahead”.
But any disruption in Australian firms using digital dictation has only
been positive, from BigHand’s perspective.
“Assistants report getting 20 to 30% of their day back, in which they
are preparing a brief, supporting a partner, fixing a document”, says
Anthony Bleasdale, Asia-Pacific Managing Director of BigHand.
“It is giving people time back, as opposed to getting rid of people -
that’s how it makes a BIG difference.”
“IT IS GIVING PEOPLE TIME BACK, AS OPPOSED TO
GETTING RID OF PEOPLE – THAT’S HOW IT MAKES
A BIG DIFFERENCE.”
ANTHONY BLEASDALE, ASIA-PACIFIC MANAGING
DIRECTOR, BIGHAND

Increased efficiency and effectiveness
Question: How can you eliminate workflow bottlenecks and
improve transcription turnaround to improve client service?
Answer: Create file notes and documents in a fraction of the time
using workflow and speech recognition technology.
BigHand SmartNote enables firms to streamline document
production processes so that documents are created and exported
with reduced need for user time and effort. Support staff can edit
and proofread file or attendance notes rather than having to create
each document from scratch.
Lawyers can better manage their workloads using their smart
phones. They may be stuck in traffic or heading to court and all they
need to do is use their iPhone or Android to quickly dictate
messages, notes and tasks. When they get back to the office, they
can get stuck into legal work and use their intellectual capital to
complete billable work. They can also use the power of voice to be
productive and enhance communication! And the support team’s
time is freed up to perform a range of other valuable tasks.

More flexibility and mobility
A happy lawyer is a productive one. BigHand’s SmartNote allows
lawyers to dictate file and meeting notes from work, home, on a
flight or at the beach. Whatever floats your boat! An employee who
wants to complete client work at home due to family commitments
now has the flexibility to dictate and work from home and can work
on the go for greater efficiency.
A Day in the Life of a Mobile Lawyer:
In May 2015, the SMH reported that Canadian lawyer and
management consultant Gerry Riskin identified voicerecognition
programs as one of the many “disruptive
technologies” that have improved working life.
Since moving to Anguilla in the Caribbean, Mr Riskin “lives
on aeroplanes”, and his technology has become his staff.
“My personal assistant is in England, I live in the
Caribbean, that’s just the way the world is now. We are
location irrelevant”, said Riskin.

Improved client service
With BigHand Go, lawyers don’t need to be chained to their desk or
tied to the office on a weekend when they have pressing work to
complete. They can use their smartphones throughout the day to
record notes and submissions and their legal assistants can track
dictations on the system and work on urgent matters as and when
they arise. If a client wants an important document on a Saturday,
the lawyer doesn’t have to wait until Monday to produce the
document, ie, when their secretary arrives at the office. Shorter
work and document turnaround times ultimately means faster
service and happier clients.
Costs Savings
With BigHand Dictate, you can dramatically reduce the amount of
resources required to process documents and employees dedicate
their time to completing higher value tasks. Reduced hiring and
staffing costs leaves more room on the firm’s bottom line. Firms can
boost the billable time capture of their fee earners by cutting down
on lost time and as the lawyers can use their smartphones, you save
on expensive dictation equipment as well. Investing in voice
productivity technology and a product like BigHand SmartNote
quickly pays for itself when you’re leveraging the skills and time of all
of your fee earners by using the system.
Compatibility and Integration
The BigHand SmartNote module delivers an end-to-end process for
firms with BigHand Speech Recognition and it turns what was once a
lengthy transcription process into a document production task only.
SmartNote also easily integrates with other systems including your
existing practice management and document management
systems.

Data Retention and Best Practice
With BigHand, you can access both the document and the audio file
if required and you can comply with the regulatory framework.
Security
All audio files are stored in an encrypted, compressed format so you
can feel safe that the documents are secure.
CONCLUSION
BigHand lets you work smarter, not harder: BigHand
SmartNote is another easy way that you can save time
and money. By using a defined process like BigHand
SmartNote, you can combine Speech Recognition and
advanced workflow to create and store documents,
dramatically reduce costs, automate document
production and improve client service.
THE POWER OF THE VOICE HAS RETURNED AND IT’S
ONE BIG LEAP FOR WORKFLOW AND EFFICIENCY.
BigHand
SmartNote

Sources:
1. Bleasdale, A., ‘Do law firms need to rethink how their lawyer are
working?”, ALPMA, 10 February 2015, http://www.alpma.com.au/asurvival-guide-for-legal-practice-managers/do-law-firms-need-torethink-how-their-lawyers-are-working?A=PrinterView
2. ILTA Technology Survey 2014
3. BigHand research data and statistics
4. Deloitte, Digital Disruption: Short fuse, big bang?’, 2012 report
5. Cormack, C., ‘Digital dictation being used more widely in
Australian law firms’, SMH, 17 May 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/
nsw/digital-dictation-being-used-more-widely-in-australian-lawfirms-20150430-1mx7sb.html
ABOUT BIGHAND
Supporting over 280,000 professional users globally across 2,550
legal, healthcare, property and finance organisations, BigHand is a
leading software technology company with a difference. Boasting
offices in Europe, America and Australia and 150 staff globally,
BigHand’s voice productivity technology combines workflow digital
dictation, smartphone applications and speech recognition that
allows professionals to use their voice to achieve more in less time.
We’re leaders in our field and proud of it. Further info is available at
www.bighand.com/apac and you can follow BigHand on Twitter and
LinkedIn.

For more information or
to request a free trial of any
BigHand product, get in touch.
enquiry@bighand.com
bighand.com
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