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Tips & Hacks
Clicks & Keystrokes: Shortcuts to Save You Time Creating Legal Documents
Every minute counts in a law firm – especially if those minutes are part of your billable hours. The more time you spend creating and editing legal documents and correspondence in Microsoft Word, the less time you spend on more important projects and tasks. This includes casework, research, client meetings, mediations, court appointments and more.
For lawyers who spend most of their 8 hours a day generating legal documents, simply adopting quick keystroke shortcuts could save you up to 8 days per year. You owe it to yourself and your clients to start mastering the tricks of the keyboard.
We shared a quick list of helpful shortcuts and quick Microsoft Word keystrokes that save lawyers considerable amounts of time in November of 2016. Today we are sharing some additional shortcuts for you to add to the list and share with your associates and staff:
CTRL + Z / Y – Undo/Redo
Mistakes happen frequently within a typical legal document. Whether you are an experienced veteran of law or a first-day Junior Associate, chances are that you are going to make mistakes either with adding something that did not belong or unintentionally clearing something that you need to put back in place as soon as possible. These keystrokes allow you to undo (or redo) whatever changes you recently made within the document.
The ability to send out legal documents faster, doesn’t mean they are of any less quality. See how Word LX allows documents to be created faster, without compromising quality.
CTRL + B/I/U – Bold, Italic, Underline
Within the standard Microsoft Word menu, most users know how to navigate the mouse pointers towards the “B”, “I” and “U” when the need to use boldface, italicized or underlined print arises. However, think about how much time is spent clicking and dragging cursors over text and then clicking the specific letter that you need before you can proceed with typing the document. With these keystrokes, you will be able to quickly shift to the specialized print that you need and keep going without delay.
CTRL + X/C/V – Cut/Copy/Paste
Like the keystrokes for Bold, Italic and Underline, being able to copy, paste and cut content are also functions that you can execute by clicking your way through menus or even right-clicking the selected text. However, a simple CTRL-X/C/V based shortcut can drastically reduce the amount of time spent making these changes – especially when you incorporate the Undo & Redo functions as well. If you are moving copy within a document then the this key stroke is valuable. If are you moving copy between different documents then a best practice is to paste unformatted text which can be done by adding the SHIFT key to this keystroke command – eg: CTRL + SHIFT + X/C/V.
CTRL + K – Insert Hyperlink
You will more than likely not need to add hyperlinks to most legal documents, especially since electronic hyperlinks are nearly valueless on printed correspondence. However, when citing references and sharing links through the Internet (such as through email message and PDF files) hyperlinks come in handy. Instead of trying to forcefully remember which menu or button allows you to add new hyperlinks to existing text, this quick keystroke shortcut is all that you need to pull up the appropriate menu.
SHIFT + F7 – Thesaurus Shortcut
If you are tired of using the same words over and over again but want to introduce a diverse diction into your legal documents, a thesaurus is the perfect tool to have readily accessible as you write. Fortunately, this keystroke shortcut will pop up the Thesaurus box – allowing you to manually enter the word (or phrase) for which you need to generate either synonyms or antonyms.
Keep in mind that legalese can serve as a major distraction for clients and even courtroom officials. Therefore, getting in the habit of using the thesaurus frequently can improve the quality of your diction and the overall readability of your document.
CTRL + F6 – Switch between Open Microsoft Word Documents
Switching between multiple MS Word documents that are already open prevents the hassle of manually opening, saving and closing every separate file that you have to access for the same project. However, clicking the task bar to navigate through the various documents is also a time-trap. Using this keystroke shortcut allows you to easily navigate from one open document to the other without having to touch your mouse or track pad at all.
When your legal documents are created faster, you have more time to focus on other tasks. Read our blog “8 Ways Lawyers Can Improve Their Work/Life Balance”
ALT + W + B – Compare 2 MS Word Documents Side-by-Side
In addition to navigating between open documents, you can increase efficiency and save productivity time simply by staring at two documents side-by-side. Even if you have a single screen display, this keystroke shortcut will take your two MS Word windows and align them symmetrically next to each other on your screen. You can then use “CTRL + F6” to bounce between the two documents and your cursor will follow right along with you.
Save Even More Time Creating Documents with Legal Templates
Using these keystroke shortcuts will save a substantial amount of time as you work through your long list of legal documents. Especially once you memorize them and they become part of your natural typing and editing process.
You can save even more time and effort by using legal document templates and encouraging your fellow associates and staff members to do the same. With a well-structured, standardized legal template solution for such frequently used items as case files, email correspondence, client memos and so forth, you will at least be able to create a solid foundation that already has the basic formatting requirements in place. Read more on how today’s law firms are abandoning their bad habits and changing their legal document procedure.
It is true that these keystroke shortcuts would still come in handy as you modify those templates to meet your specific needs. However, the complementary use of both templates and keystroke shortcuts can drastically reduce the time that your firm spends working on legal documents each year – allowing you to reinvest that time into more profitable (and enjoyable) aspects of your practice.
For more information on ways lawyers can increase quantity and quality of work, stay tuned to the news in the Infoware blog. If you’re really motivated to upgrade your firm’s document creation process, take a look at some of our industry leading legal software solutions and schedule your free demo.