By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director

With all the attention on artificial intelligence and emerging legal technology, it is easy to overlook one of the tools lawyers use every day: Microsoft Word.

But for many lawyers and legal staff, Word remains the place where pleadings, contracts, letters, briefs and forms are drafted, revised and finalized. When Word is not working the way you expect, the problem is often not the software itself. It may be that some of Word’s most useful features are hidden in plain sight.

A recent Attorney at Work article by Ben Schorr, “Microsoft Word Tips for Lawyers: Three Ways to Make Word Work Better,” highlights three practical Word features lawyers should know like the Navigation and Styles panes.

These may sound like small tips, but small Word skills often make a big difference in a law office. Proper use of Styles can help with consistent formatting, automatic tables of contents, headings and numbering. The Navigation Pane can make long documents easier to review and edit.

Lawyers do not need to become Word experts overnight, but proficiency with the tools used every day is part of running an efficient practice. Improving these skills can reduce wasted time, improve the quality of client work and help lawyers and staff avoid common document-formatting headaches.

This is also a timely reminder because the Oklahoma Bar Association is planning a Microsoft CLE. The four-hour program will cover many of the Word issues lawyers and legal staff regularly encounter in practice. More details will be available soon, but lawyers who spend too much time struggling with Word should keep an eye out for this program.

In the meantime, take a few minutes to read Schorr’s tips and try turning on the Navigation Pane the next time you work with a long document. You may find that one small setting makes Word much easier to manage.