Firm talks technology

DIGITAL DICTATION: SJ Berwin starts paper revolution

City firm SJ Berwin has taken the next step in the digital upheaval of its internal working practices by rolling out a digital dictation system across its property department.

The move is the latest in a number of initiatives by the firm to rid its offices of paper and maximise the involvement of secretaries in delivering services to clients - leaving lawyers to concentrate on business issues.

Following a successful pilot, all 120 staff in the property team now have access to BigHand's TotalSpeech digital dictation software, which allows a fee-earner to use a PC-connected microphone to dictate directly onto a sound file that can be instantaneously picked up and re-typed by a secretary - irrespective of location.

'When we saw the advantages of TotalSpeech, it started to bring to the surface the opportunities for secretaries to take on a far more intellectual and team-orientated role within the firm,' said Keith Wood, SJ Berwin's chief executive.

'The computer literacy of secretaries and young lawyers now means it is time for people to open their eyes and realise the economic savings that can be made by using the resources available to you.

We want to utilise this and move forward, and are planning a range of projects for next year.'

The firm's IT manager, Simon Kosminsky said a number of initiatives aimed at speeding up the working process are already underway.

'It all really relates to the elimination of paper in the office,' he said.

'We are implementing an electronic filing and e-mail archiving system, and have rolled out Adobe Acrobat firm-wide so clients can receive documents in pdf format, as they are demanding.'

SJ Berwin is also in the process of changing all of its photocopiers into digital multi-functional devices, he added.

Instead of just photocopying, the machine can scan a document and then either fax or e-mail it onwards, or place it in the firm's electronic filing system.

Andrew Towler