LegalBar - Apr/May '04

LegalBar

Microsoft Word isn’t easy to master, especially for those switching from Corel WordPerfect. Help is available: LegalBar from BEC Legal Systems. LegalBar is a Word toolbar that makes using Word’s legal features easier. It adds some tools of its own, such as templates and clause libraries, and provides an easy-to-use interface with Microsoft Outlook for inserting contact data.

The first button on the toolbar is “Templates.” Templates can be used to create fax coversheets, letters, pleadings, memos and other documents. After you select a template, you can enter data such as recipients, subject, client information, carbon copies or blind carbon copies. Contact data is accessible via a link to Outlook. Just click it, look up a contact in Outlook and insert the information. Client or case entries can be saved to reuse later. If you create a pleading, the input dialog lets you add different courts to the default lists by clicking the “Add” button. For example, you can add “Charlotte Division” to the list of federal court divisions. You easily can modify the default templates for your practice. After the template is generated, you can edit it in Word by adding the text of your letter or pleading, for example. Some templates, such as letters, include an additional toolbar to edit the template after it has been generated.

The Clause Library is a collection of standard legal clauses such as signature lines, notary clauses and pleading captions. After you select a clause to insert, a dialog lets you enter information, such as the name of the person signing or the date. Various practice-related Clause Libraries are available.

Many people don’t use Word properly. They directly format paragraphs instead of using styles, or they improperly use hard page codes and hard returns for spacing. The “Prepare Document” button lets you clean up these errors. After your document is cleaned, you can use the “Stylize by Paragraph” tool to scroll through it and apply styles to each paragraph for proper formatting and numbering. If you need a numbered list within a paragraph, you can use the “Add Numbering” tool.

One of the best LegalBar tools is the “TOC” button. Many have trouble with Word’s “TOC” feature because it uses styles to make a Table of Contents. It can be difficult to include lead-in text, the section-heading caption that appears after the auto paragraph number and usually ends with a period. If you apply the Heading 2 style to a paragraph that includes lead-in text plus several additional lines, the entire Heading 2 paragraph will be included in your Table of Contents, not just the lead-in text. Word 2000 and 2002 include hidden codes that can separate the lead-in from the rest of the paragraph, but you must insert them by hand. LegalBar automates the process. Tell it which styles to search for and what separates lead-in text from the rest of the paragraph, and LegalBar inserts the appropriate separator code. When you regenerate your Table of Contents, it will include only the lead-in text, not the entire paragraph. If needed, there are tools to insert the style separator by hand and to update your Table of Contents.

The “Firm Styles” button allows easy access to pre-set styles to make sure your firm’s documents all maintain the same look and feel. The “Insert Doc Number” button — it looks like two shoe prints — inserts a filestamp into your document that can include file name, date and time. You can update the filestamp by rerunning the tool.

Additional buttons allow you to change the default font in the Normal style, create a calendar from Outlook, insert contact data from Outlook, and create envelopes, labels and watermarks. Some buttons access standard Word functions such as “Page Setup” and view “Header and Footer.”

LegalBar is a great tool for legal professionals. I really had no problem with it and have no complaints.

Business Equipment Company Legal Systems
(513) 948-1500

http://www.beclegal.com/

Price: $125 per seat; contact company for other options.

Windows 98/2000/XP

Reviewed by Richard C. Belthoff Jr., vice president and assistant general counsel at Wachovia Corp. He can be reached via e-mail at richard.belthoff@
wachovia.com.

Apr/May '04 Issue

PROS
The ability to automate Table of Contents creation.

CONS
Tough to think of one, but I do suggest that BEC consider adding a “Table of Authorities” feature.

VERDICT
Highly recommended. It makes using Word’s legal features easier, especially Tables of Contents. Templates and clause libraries are great document assembly tools.