| Today, our firm, Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, | | | | The firm was also spending $18,000 per year just |
| Coleman & Goggin can report a 300% | | | | sending tapes from office to office, a cost we |
| improvement in document turnaround times and a | | | | have been able to completely eliminate since rolling |
| forecasted saving in administrative expenses of | | | | out BigHand. |
| $1500 per attorney per year, through use of | | | | Also, it was not uncommon to incur travel |
| BigHand Digital Dictation software. | | | | expenses because it was necessary to send |
| Like many law firms across the United States, | | | | support staff to other offices to cover for a |
| our firm still had many employees relying on old | | | | shortage of personnel. For example, in a 3-month |
| analog tape dictation machines. This was a | | | | period for a single office, travel expenses for |
| concern because most tape manufacturers have | | | | support staff were $1,006. With BigHand, Marshall |
| already discontinued the production of tape | | | | Dennehey will be able to eliminate travel costs |
| equipment and those who have not, soon will. | | | | since a secretary can transcribe dictations |
| We were also having increasing difficulty in | | | | originating in any of our 17 offices without leaving |
| recruiting quality support staff, especially at some | | | | his or her desk. |
| of the smaller regional offices in our 17 office | | | | Less tangible than dollars returned - as we |
| network. This led to occasional document | | | | don’t have confirmed stats – is BigHand |
| turnaround times averaging 7 to 10 days. We | | | | has helped reduce our recruitment requirements |
| knew we needed to take action to not only | | | | by improving our secretary / attorney ratio. |
| increase efficiency in this area, but to provide a | | | | In terms of stress levels the office is now a |
| workflow that would simplify our employees' | | | | more efficient and organized place because the |
| ability to proactively and efficiently dictate and | | | | attorneys have access to anything they would |
| transcribe. | | | | want to know about their dictations and the |
| Increased mobility for attorneys is also an area | | | | status of them; secretaries can clearly see what |
| we knew we had to address in order to remain | | | | his or her workload is and office managers can |
| competitive and offer top notch legal services. | | | | distribute the work more easily and from |
| Clients now expect law firms to be mobile and | | | | anywhere. |
| productive 24/7. | | | | We have also found an increase in the number of |
| When we began looking for a digital dictation | | | | people who may work on a matter – |
| workflow solution, we discovered most products | | | | sometimes three secretaries may pitch-in during a |
| seemed to be designed for the medical industry. | | | | short amount of time in order to help get a |
| BigHand stood out as being the only global vendor | | | | ‘high priority’ piece of work out the door. |
| whose product was designed specifically for | | | | Sandy Caiazzo describes: “It has turned into a |
| attorneys. | | | | bonding exercise and increased our sense of |
| Technically, the back-end of BigHand3 was also | | | | working for one firm. Support staff from |
| very important. It allows us to manage all our | | | | different offices interact with each other more, |
| employees across all 17 offices and also has | | | | and the staff at the smaller offices benefit as |
| proven multi-site redundancy (they have over 500 | | | | they can be recognized as key players by helping |
| law firms using the system worldwide). This is | | | | out at crucial times. Things like absence and |
| important as for many attorneys dictation is | | | | maternity leave can have a real impact at remote |
| mission critical in terms of getting documents out | | | | offices so the support and saving that BigHand |
| the door, and it facilitates our plan to provide | | | | offers is crucial now too.” |
| secretarial support to remote offices. | | | | In terms of mobility, we have one attorney using |
| Sandy Caiazzo, Regional Manager at Marshall, | | | | the BigHand Telephony/cell phone dictation module |
| Dennehey described: “We really liked the user | | | | which has meant that he has no outstanding |
| friendly interface, and that the workflow | | | | dictations when he returns to the office as |
| possibilities were suited to legal practice, as it was | | | | compared to the days when he used to return |
| important that the product be easy to train. The | | | | and deposit 10 tapes with his secretary. It would |
| results certainly supported that decision. There | | | | take days to turn around. |
| was no question that we posed that didn’t | | | | John Gonzales, Shareholder in the King of Prussia |
| have a simple answer.” | | | | office commented: "BigHand saves me time by |
| The impact on document turnaround times has | | | | allowing me to simply send an assignment |
| been dramatic. The way the system creates | | | | electronically, instead of physically dictating on a |
| distinct, separate dictations and makes them | | | | tape, taking the tape to my secretary and then |
| available across the firm means secretaries can | | | | waiting for the tape to be returned. There is |
| transcribe more efficiently and share the workload | | | | never a situation where I have to look for a blank |
| easily. In our Akron office there were times when | | | | tape and my work is completed faster and more |
| document turnaround lagged 7-10 days. That is | | | | accurately." |
| now barely 2-3 days and the majority of work | | | | "My secretary and I have had an ongoing |
| goes out within 24 hrs. We are experiencing | | | | "contest" to see who can complete more work. |
| similar results in our King of Prussia office. So | | | | Since moving to BigHand there hasn't been a day |
| we’ve gained almost a business week in | | | | that goes by, no matter how much I dictate that |
| productivity. | | | | my secretary can't complete all of the |
| Overtime costs have gone down too. We saved | | | | assignments that I leave her within a 24 hour |
| $3500 per 5 attorneys in Akron – so when | | | | cycle. There is never a backlog of tapes to be |
| you roll that out across the firm it does add up. | | | | completed." BigHand. |