Styles: The Backbone of Legal Word Processing

When I think of the word 'Style' the first thing that comes to my mind is fashion and home decorating. Modern/contemporary is my preference when it comes to home furnishings. And, though I'm not a slave to fashion (some who know me may disagree), I like the process of pulling together a modest, yet tasteful outfit. Right about now you may be asking yourself: 'what does all of this have to do with legal word processing?'

The word Style in any context is representative of a combination of complimentary elements. Modern home design is not just furniture with clean lines. It encompasses colors, textures, and other elements, which collectively identify the style name.

Microsoft Word Styles are the same as any other type of styling. Made up of a combination of formatting features, a single Style in Microsoft Word allows you to apply multiple formatting with a single mouse click. For example, consider the Paragraph style: like other Style types, each Paragraph style has a name that reflects it formatting elements. Paragraph styles also contain all of the elements needed to format a paragraph. Line spacing, spacing between paragraphs, first line indenting, keep lines together, and a host of other paragraph related formatting features. Because paragraphs differ in formatting, particularly in complex legal documents, using Styles to format will save a tremendous amount of time. And, of course, time saved is revenue saved.

When it comes to formatting complex legal documents, using Microsoft Word Styles is crucial. Because we tend to think of a word processing software as common technology, Microsoft Word is highly advanced technology. The touch of a key and the single click of a mouse combines complex coding. When we use Styles, we reduce the amount of codes in a document and thereby support the stability of what really is an intricate electronic file.

Most people feel that using Styles requires too much time and energy. Quite the opposite is true. You may spend a bit of time modifying Styles to reflect the desired formatting requirements. However, you will save an enormous amount of time when it comes to modifying documents, adding riders and making other types of document edits.

As the backbone of document formatting, KAS Training & Development addresses the use of Styles extensively in its book, "Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 for Law Professionals--Unveiling the Rules and Secrets of Legal Word Processing". For a view inside of our book, check us out at http://www.books.google.com/.