Legal Technology Journal

7 October 2008 - Chicago, IL: Canton, Ohio based Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty provides legal counsel to individuals and clients throughout widely diversified industries on a local, regional, and national level.

Prior to WinScribe, Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty utilized an analog tape-based solution to meet its dictation needs. The firm experienced many of the challenges often presented by a tape-based solution. Audio files were difficult to manage. Tapes had to be delivered to the transcription pool, and the quality of the audio on the tapes sometimes posed a challenge to the transcription team. When the dictation and transcription equipment began failing and could no longer be repaired, James Clawson, Executive Director, knew it was time for a change.

Clawson turned to WinScribe Partner, Roach-Reid Office Systems. “I considered a couple alternative systems to replace our dying solution, but both were analog. Dennis McBride of Roach-Reid Office Systems suggested WinScribe as a digital solution. He was willing to stake his reputation on the product. We took a look at all factors. When we compared the cost of going digital to the cost of continuing to invest in the analog solution, what became apparent to us was the wider spectrum of benefits that the digital dictation system provides.”

Attorneys and paralegals are utilizing the WinScribe internet author with speech microphones and digital portable devices to facilitate the dictation process. Some of their attorneys were nervous about not having a physical tape to deliver, but they soon learned how much more productive they would become from the switch to digital devices. By not having to deliver a tape, attorneys are no longer subject to the distraction and loss of time that comes with having to physically move a tape from their office to the transcription department. They now have the convenience of submitting a completed dictation immediately, right from their desk with a simple push of a button. Today the firm has 60 individuals authoring dictation, up from 30 who were authoring dictation when the analog system was in place.

One key benefit to the transcriptionist pool was the ability to slow down and speed up the playback speed of the audio without degrading the quality of the audio. The firm employs a transcription pool of 14 full and part-time typists supporting 41 attorneys and 16 paralegals. The accuracy and prompt turnaround time of documents is driven by the transcriptionists’ ability to clearly understand the words spoken in the dictation. Digital audio files give them this ability.

In looking to take full advantage of the firm’s investment into WinScribe, Clawson looked at other ways in which the firm could leverage voice to enhance productivity and subsequently found two other areas where WinScribe could be utilized: within the firm’s time and billing and voice mail systems.