Progressive law firm Burton & Dyson Solicitors have upgraded their Fee Earners and support staff to the latest version of BigHand’s Digital Dictation, BigHand 5. In addition, the specialists in commercial and litigation law implemented BigHand’s mobility application BigHand Go to drive a ‘work on the go’ initiative.

The firm, previously on version 4.2 of BigHand’s software, upgraded all 20 Fee Earners and support staff to BigHand 5 in order to make use of the compatibility advantages when using Windows 10. Kirk Conroy, Office Manager at Burton & Dyson Solicitors explains the objectives behind the upgrade project: “The key drivers were the advanced features and support that you receive in version 5. We were on a relatively old version and knew that we would benefit from the compatibility with Windows 10 which made sense for us. It was easy to train all the users on the new version and they picked up how to use it immediately. I’ve had feedback that the support staff like the easy-to-use interface and the new mini-player. The mini-player is bigger on the screen compared to how it appeared before and they can see more information. Overall, since the install, I’ve had no user complaints, which is unusual for projects of this size!”.

BigHand Go, an advanced Digital Dictation, workflow and electronic document approval application for mobile devices, was included in the project. Kirk comments; “We wanted to reduce the turnaround time for client letters. We have set up a workflow
within the mobile app so the support staff can send documents for approval straight to the Fee Earner’s smartphone whilst they are out of the office. Fee Earners are now Dictating client letters straight from the court hearing. They are then being produced
and sent out on the same day. So far, we have six Fee Earners using the technology and I have heard nothing but praise for the app, they particularly like the ability to view the work in progress folder while they are out of the office, as it shows them what has been completed and what is still being worked on.”

Kirk concludes, “It’s this kind of technology that gives us access to new ways of working. The mobile app helps Fee Earners achieve a more flexible working environment and the upgrade to BigHand Hub means that the support staff get a faster and more powerful technology to use and one that works with our existing systems. We can see the potential for reducing the turnaround time for client letters by using BigHand Go, which is good for our clients but it’s also strengthened our relationship with BigHand, especially as the implementation process went swimmingly. The BigHand Project Management team as always, were extremely good. They always invest time to scope the project before the day of installation, ensuring that everything is in place with no assumptions made, making the installation straightforward.”