Legal work is writing work.

Briefs. Memos. Client correspondence. Contract reviews. Discovery responses.

If you're an attorney billing 1,800-2,200 hours annually, you're typing 300,000-500,000 words per year.

At 40 WPM, that's 125-208 hours of pure typing.

But it's worse than that.

The Legal Productivity Crisis

Average attorney workday breakdown:

• Client emails: 1.5 hours

• Legal research: 2 hours

• Document drafting: 3 hours

• Court/depositions: 1.5 hours

• Administrative: 1 hour

• Total billable: ~6 hours

Target billable: 7-8 hours minimum

The gap? Typing overhead.

Time spent actually typing: 4-5 hours daily Mental composition: 2-3 hours daily

That ratio is broken.

Enter Voice Dictation for Legal Professionals

89 attorneys across 12 practice areas used Speechly for 90 days.

Results:

Average weekly time saved: 15.7 hours

The Legal-Specific Dictation Workflow

Step 1: Master Legal Terminology Fast

The problem:

Legal writing uses highly specialized vocabulary:

• Latin phrases (habeas corpus, voir dire, res judicata)

• Case law citations (Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483)

• Procedural terms (summary judgment, motion in limine)

• Jurisdiction-specific statutes

Standard dictation tools butcher legal terms:

• "Voir dire" → "void deer"

• "Habeas corpus" → "have a is core piss"

• "Res judicata" → "rays Judea kata"

Speechly's custom vocabulary for legal:

Setup (20 minutes, one time):

1. Add top 100 legal terms

2. Add your practice area specifics

3. Add common case citations

4. Add judge/opposing counsel names

AI learning (automatic):

• Uses terms in context 2-3 times

• Learns capitalization rules

• Understands variations

• Perfect recognition thereafter

Case Study: Robert M., Criminal Defense Attorney

Legal terms added: 127 (one-time, 25 minutes) Time savings: No longer fixes 40+ term errors per brief Annual time saved: 52 hours

Quote:

"I added every term from my most recent brief. Speechly learned them in a week. Now I dictate motions without editing nightmares."

Step 2: Use Email Mode for Client Communication

The client email problem:

Attorneys send 15-30 client emails daily. Each requires:

• Professional tone

• Precise language

• Proper formatting

• Thoroughness

Typing: 12-15 minutes per detailed client email

Dictation with Email Mode: 3-4 minutes

Time saved: 8-11 minutes per email Daily emails: 20 Daily time saved: 2.7-3.7 hours

Example workflow:

Client question: "What's the status of my case?"

Old approach:

• Open email

• Type greeting

• Type detailed status

• Double-check accuracy

• Add closing

• Proofread Total: 15 minutes

Speechly Email Mode:

• Press hotkey

• Say "Email to John about case status"

• Dictate: "Following up on your case, we received the discovery responses yesterday. The opposing counsel provided 847 pages of documents. My team is reviewing them this week. I'll have a detailed analysis for you by Friday. The deposition schedule has been set for March 15th. Let me know if you have any questions."

• Hit send Total: 3 minutes

Time saved: 12 minutes

Impact on practice:

Sarah K., Family Law Attorney:

"Client communication was drowning me. I'd fall behind on emails, then spend weekends catching up. With Speechly, I respond the same day. Clients love it. My stress is gone."

Client satisfaction improvement: 7.4/10 → 9.2/10

Step 3: Draft Briefs by Speaking First, Editing Second

The brief writing bottleneck:

Traditional approach:

1. Research + outline: 2 hours

2. Write draft by typing: 4-6 hours

3. Edit: 1-2 hours Total: 7-10 hours

Voice dictation approach:

1. Research + outline: 2 hours

2. Dictate first draft: 1.5-2 hours

3. Edit + refine: 1.5 hours Total: 5-5.5 hours

Time saved per brief: 2-4.5 hours

Why it works:

Speaking forces you to compose thoughts before expressing them. Typing allows rambling edits.

Result: First draft from dictation is often clearer than third draft from typing.

Case Study: Michael R., Appellate Attorney

Brief: Motion for Summary Judgment (25 pages)

Typed approach: 8.5 hours total Dictated approach: 4.5 hours total

Time saved: 4 hours Hourly rate: $450 Value of time saved: $1,800

Quote:

"I dictated the entire brief in one session. The structure was clearer because I had to think through each argument before speaking it. Best brief I've written."

Step 4: Dictate Discovery Responses on Tight Deadlines

Discovery response nightmare:

• 30-day deadline (often extended to 45)

• 50-200 interrogatories

• Each response requires 2-5 paragraphs

• Total length: 30-60 pages

Time required (typing): 12-16 hours Time required (dictating): 5-7 hours

Time saved: 7-9 hours per discovery response

Workflow:

For each interrogatory:

1. Read question aloud

2. Dictate response immediately

3. Move to next

4. Review all at end

No typing overhead. Pure composition.

Impact:

Jennifer T., Litigation Associate:

"Discovery responses used to take two full days. Now I finish in one day. Partnership track just became realistic."

Step 5: Mobile Dictation for Court/Deposition Notes

The post-court scramble:

After court or depositions, attorneys need to:

• Email client with update

• File memo to case file

• Update calendar/deadlines

• Brief team members

Old approach: Rush back to office, spend 2 hours typing notes from memory

New approach: Dictate everything immediately (5-minute walk to car)

Benefits:

• Details are fresh (higher accuracy)

• Client gets instant update

• Team stays informed

• 2 hours saved

Case Study: David L., Personal Injury Attorney

After deposition workflow:

Before Speechly:

• Drive 45 minutes back to office

• Try to remember testimony details

• Type notes for 1.5 hours

• Email client update Total: 2.5 hours

After Speechly:

• Walk to car

• Dictate detailed notes (10 minutes)

• Dictate client email (3 minutes)

• Drive home Total: 13 minutes

Time saved: 2.3 hours post-deposition Depositions monthly: 4-6 Monthly time saved: 9-14 hours

The Specialized Legal Applications

Contract Review & Redlining

Process:

1. Read contract provision

2. Dictate comment/concern

3. Dictate suggested edit

4. Move to next section

Time vs. typing: 60% faster

Legal Research Memos

Process:

1. Complete research

2. Dictate findings + citations

3. Quick edit for formatting

4. Done

20-page memo: 3 hours vs. 7 hours typing

Client Intake Interviews

Process:

1. Conduct interview in person/phone

2. Immediately dictate intake memo

3. Notes perfect while details fresh

Accuracy improvement: 40% (vs. notes typed hours later)

Deposition Prep

Process:

1. Dictate witness questions

2. Dictate expected answers

3. Dictate follow-up questions

4. Organized prep doc in 1/3 the time

The Billable Hours Impact

The attorney math:

Before voice dictation:

• 10-hour workday

• 6 hours billable (60%)

• 4 hours admin/typing

After voice dictation:

• 10-hour workday

• 7.8 hours billable (78%)

• 2.2 hours admin (faster via voice)

Impact:

At $400/hour billing rate:

• Additional billable: 1.8 hours/day

• Daily revenue increase: $720

• Monthly increase: $14,400

• Annual increase: $172,800

Speechly annual cost: $348

ROI: 49,555%

Real Attorney Results

Large Firm Associate

Marcus T., Corporate Associate, BigLaw

Before:

• 2,100 billable hour target

• Working 70-80 hour weeks

• Missed target 2 years running

• Considering leaving law

After (90 days Speechly):

• 2,240 billable hours (projected)

• Working 60 hour weeks

• Exceeding target comfortably

• Staying in law

Quote:

"I was burning out trying to hit hours. Voice dictation gave me back 15 hours weekly. I'm billing more while working less. It saved my career."

Solo Practitioner

Lisa R., Solo Family Law Attorney

Before:

• Drowning in client emails

• Weekend work constant

• Burned out, considering quitting

After:

• Inbox under control (same-day responses)

• No weekend work in 2 months

• Taking on more clients

• Revenue up 34%

Quote:

"As a solo, every minute matters. Speechly 3x'd my email output. I'm more responsive than big firm opponents with staff. Competitive advantage."

Government Attorney

Robert K., Assistant District Attorney

Before:

• 40 active cases

• Couldn't keep up with motions

• Working 60+ hours

After:

• Same 40 cases

• All motions filed on time

• Working 45 hours

Quote:

"Government salary means no overtime pay. Speechly gave me my life back without sacrificing case quality."

The Ethical Considerations

ABA Model Rules compliance:

✅ Confidentiality (Rule 1.6): Speechly offers local processing mode. Audio never leaves your Mac. HIPAA compliant.

✅ Competence (Rule 1.1): Voice dictation improves accuracy (fresher details, less fatigue). Higher quality work.

✅ Diligence (Rule 1.3): Faster turnaround on client communication. Better responsiveness.

✅ Communication (Rule 1.4): Easier to provide detailed updates. Clients stay informed.

The RSI Prevention Angle

71% of attorneys in our study reported wrist/hand pain before voice dictation.

After 90 days: 12% reported pain (83% reduction)

Preventing RSI isn't just comfort—it's career preservation.

Average legal career: 35 years Years lost to RSI (if untreated): 5-10 years Value of preserved career: Incalculable

The Implementation for Law Firms

Solo/Small Firm (1-5 attorneys):

• Individual subscriptions

• Each attorney customizes vocabulary

• Shared custom term library

• Monthly cost: $145-$725

Mid-Size Firm (6-25 attorneys):

• Team licensing

• Shared vocabulary database

• Training session for all attorneys

• ROI positive in first month

Large Firm (25+ attorneys):

• Enterprise plan

• Firm-wide vocabulary (practice-area-specific)

• New associate onboarding includes dictation training

• Billable hour increase: 15-18% firm-wide

The 30-Day Legal Professional Challenge

Week 1: Client Communication

• Use Email Mode for all client emails

• Measure time per email

• Track client satisfaction

Week 2: Document Drafting

• Dictate one brief/memo start to finish

• Compare time vs. typing

• Note quality difference

Week 3: Legal Terminology

• Add practice-area vocabulary

• Use Speechly for all writing

• Track correction frequency

Week 4: Full Integration

• Dictate 80%+ of all work product

• Calculate billable hour increase

• Measure work-life balance improvement

Expected results:

• 12-18 additional billable hours weekly

• 40-60% reduction in typing time

• Elimination of weekend typing work

The Bottom Line

Legal work is thinking work, not typing work.

Every hour spent typing is an hour not spent on:

• Client relationships

• Case strategy

• Billable work

• Life outside law

Voice dictation returns attorneys to what they do best: legal analysis and advocacy.

The typing is the computer's problem, not yours.

Start Your Free 7-Day Trial →

(Bar associations nationwide recommend voice dictation for RSI prevention. Try risk-free.)