Law Firms, Microsoft Word 2010 and Styles

I would dare to say that the legal industry leads the way in effectively employing the use of Microsoft Word. Yes, of course I am partial. I've been servicing lawyers with administrative support and training for most of my adult life. The need for proper document formatting and standardization is critical to the legal industry. Document size and the multiple types of formatting contained in a single legal document demands a standard that is accomplished through proper application usage. Therefore, the document production specialists (legal word processing operator) is required to have skill-sets that allow them to manipulate the application in a way that surpasses many certified Microsoft Office Specialists.

While some law firms continue to move forward from Office 2003 to 2007 and 2010 (yes, kicking and screaming), their users—once the initial shock wears off—will eventually come to understand that the new look, though intimidating, is a welcomed changed. I personally felt like someone broke into my home and move all of my most used household tools to different locations. However, knowing that the only thing in life I can count on is change, I bit the bullet and used the Ribbon Tab names to form associations with various tasks I needed to perform. Lo and behold, I began to located groups of commands that were quite familiar.

The more challenging change was grasping the difference in Word 2003 Outline Numbering with heading styles, to 2007/2010 Multilevel List. Taking the time to unlearn what I learned (In the words of Yoda), over time I grasped the new concept and found sheer pleasure knowing that there is no longer a need to dig deep into a Heading Style to customize the style numbering.

The Style Gallery is like an artist's arrangement of document formatting tools, displaying the name of the styles and its formatting appearance. Live Preview, a new technology introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, lets you preview a styles formatting attributes before you apply it. By rolling the mouse pointer over a style in the Style Gallery, the text at the cursor location in the document takes on the look of the style's attributes, allowing you to see what your text will look like before applying the style.

Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 provides varying ways to use styles—the backbone of document formatting. Create style sets, creating new styles, access, modify and clear direct formatting (the Style Inspector is impressive). Used creatively, any law office—small or large—can effectively devise and employ house-styles that will reduce cost, which is the bottom line of any company, in any industry.

Learn more about document production and the skill it requires. Pick up a copy of: "Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 for Law Professionals—Unveiling the Rules and Secrets of Legal Word Processing" Available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and all major online booksellers around the globe.

The Perils of Direct Formatting

You find yourself working on a legal document with numerous paragraphs that begin with a number followed by a heading that precedes a paragraph (e.g., "10. The Seller's Options. The Seller will have the following options"). In the legal industry, there is a right way and a wrong way to format a heading with this particular formatting. The wrong way would include direct formatting. What is direct formatting?

Direct formatting is the process of applying formatting directly to text (characters) and paragraphs. Now, you may be thinking: "What are the formatting icons for if not for applying formatting?" You're right, the icons are for applying formatting directly. However, when you're formatting a document with Microsoft Word, each click of an icon inserts invisible codes into a document. The more codes you insert, the more likely you are to corrupt your document...in time. In addition, Microsoft Word's infrastructure supports the application of formatting with the use of Styles (please see our previous post on "Styles").

In the legal industry, direct formatting is considered objectionable. When a document is lengthy and contains multiple types of paragraph and character formatting, page numbering and page layouts, it is imperative that only a minimal amount of direct formatting is used, if any. Using the example in the first paragraph, by the time you reach paragraph 10, if direct formatting is employed, you will have inserted coding for each numbered paragraph that precedes it, which expends time, and time is revenue saved or spent.

Lesson 4 of "Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 for Law Professionals" provides a comparison of direct formatting with correct formatting steps for numerous character and paragraph formatting attributes. Lesson 8 discusses the use of Styles and why it is imperative that formatting begin and end with Styles, highlighting the simplicity of this important feature.

You can learn more about word processing for law professionals when you purchase "Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 for Law Professionals" by clicking the following link. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00350I2B6.

KAS Training is providing free webinar training to anyone that purchases our book between May, 2010 and October 31, 2010. Check our website for details. http://www.kastraining.com