If you want your firm or your legal department to write with one voice, then you need a house style guide. Editors and publishing companies use these guides to make sure they have a unified image and so should you! By sharing your specialized dictionaries, fixes, and macros, you get everyone on the same page. (Get it?) Another way to create a uniform voice is to build editing software into your drafting process. WordRake works in Microsoft Word and Outlook. It goes beyond Microsoft’s built-in spelling and grammar checkers to help you reduce legalese and wordy writing though complex, patented algorithms. Try WordRake free for 7 days!
To learn more about tools that can improve your editing process and enforce house style, check out 4 Tech Tools for Writers on our blog.
About Barron K. Henley
Barron K. Henley, Esq. is one of the founding partners of Affinity Consulting Group, a legal technology consulting firm focused on automating and streamlining law firms and legal departments. He earned his B.S./B.A. (marketing and economics) and J.D. from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American, Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council. He is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Technology and the Courts, and a member of both the ABA Law Practice Management and the Real Property Trust and Estate Law (“RPTE”) Sections. Barron heads Affinity’s document assembly/automation and software training departments. Finally, Barron teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. and Canada covering a wide variety of topics related to law practice management, technology and ethics.
About Ivy B. Grey
Ivy B. Grey is the Chief Strategy & Growth Officer for WordRake. Before joining the WordRake team, she practiced bankruptcy law for ten years. During her decade of legal practice, Ivy was named a Rising Star in the New York Metro Area for five consecutive years, and her significant representations included American Airlines, Columbia House, Kodak, and Dewey & LeBoeuf.
Since joining the legal tech world, Ivy has become known for her work on technology competence, ethics, and innovation. She has a unique blend of skills and an outstanding ability to synthesize technical, business, and legal information into practical advice and actionable plans. In 2020, Ivy was recognized as an Influential Woman in Legal Tech by ILTA. She has also been recognized as a Fastcase 50 Honoree and included in the Women of Legal Tech list by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center.