What is Legal Transcription?
At OutSec Legal we have a range of legal transcription services all of which have been designed specifically for today's legal practice. Outsourcing key process-based functions like transcription allow law firms and legal practices to concentrate on what they do best; practice law.
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As Tom Peters says: "Do what you do best, outsource the rest".
Legal Transcription: What is it?
Legal transcription is the process of converting digital dictation recordings recorded by legal professionals (solicitors, lawyers, barristers, paralegals, legal executives) and their practice staff from speech into text by a legal transcriptionist, legal typist or legal secretary who then transcribes the text into digital legal documents. These digital documents will include:
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Bespoke correspondence
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Telephone attendance notes
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File notes
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Attendance notes
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Witness statements
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Affidavits
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Statutory declarations
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Leases
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Notices
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Articles of Association
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Contracts and Agreements
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Instructions and Briefs to Counsel
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HM Land Registry documents and forms
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Court documents and forms
Legal secretaries, legal typists and legal transcriptionists know how legal and court documents are laid out. It is something you learn whilst working in a legal practice. Our legal transcriptionist team know to set out documents in civil proceedings. They are aware that the layout is stipulated by law, under part 5 of the CPR. Just like they know that this appears in the "white book". Experienced legal transcriptionists also know which rule to use when writing a letter to an incarcerated prisoner at His Majesty's pleasure. If they don't then, your work is not being carried out by a trained or experienced legal typist, transcriptionist or secretary but likely by a bank of typists.
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This is why legal transcription work should be typed by experienced and trained legal secretaries, typists or transcriptionists. This is because they know how documents should be set out; they will also know Latin terminology and legal jargon.
There are many transcription companies in the market, that conduct work for many different sectors. This means legal work is often farmed out randomly to huge banks of typists (where most have never worked in the legal profession). This results in poor-quality legal transcription and something that can be avoided by using OutSec Legal.
OutSec Legal's Transcriptionist Team
At OutSec Legal we like to be different to the rest. We believe in having dedicated legal transcriptionists. For each fee earner, we would allocate two experienced legal secretaries, typists or transcriptionists to carry out their work. This allows your dedicated typists to build a rapport, in the same way as an in-house secretary would.
Every legal secretary, legal transcriptionist or legal typist working for OutSec Legal has at least 10 years of experience working within the legal sector. Many have CIlex and other legal secretarial qualifications.
It is these factors which make our legal transcriptionist team one of the best in the UK legal transcription market.
What Areas of Law Does Your Legal Transcriptionist Team Cover?​
At OutSec Legal we cover all areas of law but have specialist transcriptionists in the following areas:
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Commercial
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Consumer
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Corporate
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Human Rights
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Personal Injury
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Clinical negligence​
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Criminal
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Matrimonial
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Family
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Probate
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Company law
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Civil Litigation
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Criminal Litigation
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Tort
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Copyright (Music)
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Design and Patents
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Debt
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Insolvency and Bankruptcy
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Immigration
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Social Housing
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Public Law
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Employment Law
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Charity
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Conveyancing and Property law
What Types of Legal Practices Do You Cater For?
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Would using speech-to-text software not be quicker?Unfortunately, speech-to-text software still struggles with accuracy. There are also concerns regarding the security of recordings and the processing of these. You may recall the article in the Guardian about Apple where we learned that: "Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information". And it wasn't just Apple: Google "admitted that contractors can access recordings made by Assistant, after some of its recordings were leaked". Here at OutSec Legal, we have developed our own app for you to record and upload your audio transcription files securely and easily to us. Our professional legal transcriptionists will provide you with a more accurate transcription than you could obtain via speech-to-text software and they are covered by our confidentiality contracts. So with OutSec, you know who is processing your data and that it will be safe.
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How will you keep my data secure?OutSec Legal has been transcribing confidential digital recordings and legal digital dictation files securely for over 20 years. Our software has been developed around stringent encryption standards required by the legal services sector. We are registered with the ICO. OutSec Legal are also Cyber Essentials certified, which is required by all contractors who contract with UK Gov. OutSec Legal leverage the Amazon/AWS Cloud to provide a highly secure and geo-redundant infrastructure, which provides the resilience and availability demanded by modern-day businesses. OutSec also ensures that every client transaction is protected with the latest SSL security. OutSec’s FileManager system is password encrypted, with each client having their own username and password. The OutSec servers are secured using the latest encryption protocols: Simplified disaster recovery and automatic failover Encryption at rest and in-transit Encrypted data transfer (256-bit using a 2048-bit key) SHA-2 hashing for all certificates. TLS cryptology.
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What if I need help or support?You are able to contact OutSec Legal by email, phone and even by Skype. We will be happy to speak to you and provide you with any help or support that you need in using our service.
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Why is OutSec Legal the leading UK legal transcription company in the industry?OutSec Legal has been designed from the ground up to provide services which law firms, barristers' chambers and other legal practices want and need. OutSec Legal only transcribe legal digital dictation audio and video files to offer our unique set of services. These include legal transcription (single voice or multi voice) as well as legal document production, formatting and editing services. OutSec Legal only transcribe files from legal practices, they do not transcribe files from other sectors. This makes our offering unique from other transcription companies in the market, where work is farmed out randomly to huge banks of typists (none of which have ever worked in the legal sector). ​ At OutSec we believe in having dedicated legal typists, transcriptionists and secretaries. Consequently, for each fee earner, we would allocate two experienced legal typists, transcriptionists or secretaries to carry out their work. All our transcriptionists have at least 10 years of experience in the legal sector. This allows your dedicated legal transcriptionists to build a bond, in the same way as an in-house secretary would. ​ Our legal transcriptionist team and our legal document production, formatting and editing team know exactly how legal documents should be laid out. This is because most have CILEX or legal secretarial qualifications in addition to their experience meaning they are the best in the industry. Our passion for excellence and an eye for detail, alongside financial investment in the very latest technology, ensure OutSec Legal provide a first-class service with data security and confidentiality at the forefront. Our close working relationship with our clients ensures that the OutSec Legal experience is one of excellence and a natural extension of your existing office.
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App
Need a digital recorder? Well, we have an app to do just that! It turns your smartphone or tablet into a digital dictation recorder. Why not use our legal transcription app to access your transcriptions on the go!
Legal Digital Dictation & Transcription Services
How Our Legal Transcription Service Works
Record your legal dictation files
Record your audio dictation files via our OutSec Connect app (available for iOS, iPadOS & Android) and send the files securely to us. Alternatively, if you use a digital dictaphone, you can upload your digital dictation files via our secure website. You will receive a notification that the file has been uploaded and sent for transcription. OutSec Legal can also accept files from Bighand, Dictamen, ODMS & Speechwrite and many other digital dictation recorders & software.
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Transcription is undertaken by legal typists or legal secretaries
Your file will be allocated to one of two designated legal transcriptionists or legal secretaries who will type, edit and format your legal documents as per your instructions on your audio dictation files. Our legal typists can type these directly into case management systems such as Actionstep, Visualfiles, Ochresoft, Intelliworks and many more.
Receive your legal transcripts
Once the dictation file has been completed by your legal transcriptionist. legal typist or legal secretary, you will receive a notification that your completed file or files are ready for collection.
You can then download your completed legal correspondence and your legal documents from our secure website. Alternatively, you can collect the files securely from the OutSec Connect app.
Frequently Asked Questions
At OutSec Legal, we are always happy to answer any questions you may have.
That is why we have put together a searchable set of frequently asked questions just for you:
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Would using speech-to-text software not be quicker?Unfortunately, speech-to-text software still struggles with accuracy. There are also concerns regarding the security of recordings and the processing of these. You may recall the article in the Guardian about Apple where we learned that: "Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information". And it wasn't just Apple: Google "admitted that contractors can access recordings made by Assistant, after some of its recordings were leaked". Here at OutSec Legal, we have developed our own app for you to record and upload your audio transcription files securely and easily to us. Our professional legal transcriptionists will provide you with a more accurate transcription than you could obtain via speech-to-text software and they are covered by our confidentiality contracts. So with OutSec, you know who is processing your data and that it will be safe.
-
How will you keep my data secure?OutSec Legal has been transcribing confidential digital recordings and legal digital dictation files securely for over 20 years. Our software has been developed around stringent encryption standards required by the legal services sector. We are registered with the ICO. OutSec Legal are also Cyber Essentials certified, which is required by all contractors who contract with UK Gov. OutSec Legal leverage the Amazon/AWS Cloud to provide a highly secure and geo-redundant infrastructure, which provides the resilience and availability demanded by modern-day businesses. OutSec also ensures that every client transaction is protected with the latest SSL security. OutSec’s FileManager system is password encrypted, with each client having their own username and password. The OutSec servers are secured using the latest encryption protocols: Simplified disaster recovery and automatic failover Encryption at rest and in-transit Encrypted data transfer (256-bit using a 2048-bit key) SHA-2 hashing for all certificates. TLS cryptology.
-
What if I need help or support?You are able to contact OutSec Legal by email, phone and even by Skype. We will be happy to speak to you and provide you with any help or support that you need in using our service.
-
Why is OutSec Legal the leading UK legal transcription company in the industry?OutSec Legal has been designed from the ground up to provide services which law firms, barristers' chambers and other legal practices want and need. OutSec Legal only transcribe legal digital dictation audio and video files to offer our unique set of services. These include legal transcription (single voice or multi voice) as well as legal document production, formatting and editing services. OutSec Legal only transcribe files from legal practices, they do not transcribe files from other sectors. This makes our offering unique from other transcription companies in the market, where work is farmed out randomly to huge banks of typists (none of which have ever worked in the legal sector). ​ At OutSec we believe in having dedicated legal typists, transcriptionists and secretaries. Consequently, for each fee earner, we would allocate two experienced legal typists, transcriptionists or secretaries to carry out their work. All our transcriptionists have at least 10 years of experience in the legal sector. This allows your dedicated legal transcriptionists to build a bond, in the same way as an in-house secretary would. ​ Our legal transcriptionist team and our legal document production, formatting and editing team know exactly how legal documents should be laid out. This is because most have CILEX or legal secretarial qualifications in addition to their experience meaning they are the best in the industry. Our passion for excellence and an eye for detail, alongside financial investment in the very latest technology, ensure OutSec Legal provide a first-class service with data security and confidentiality at the forefront. Our close working relationship with our clients ensures that the OutSec Legal experience is one of excellence and a natural extension of your existing office.
However, if you have any additional questions why not get in touch.
What Makes OutSec Legal The Best Legal Transcription Service & Legal Document Production Service in the UK?
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​​OutSec Legal are GDPR compliant;
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OutSec Legal are Cyber Essentials certified which is independently assessed;
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OutSec Legal only use experienced legal secretaries, legal copy typists, notetakers, minute takers, legal document production and editing specialists, all of whom have signed strict confidentiality agreements with us.;
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With OutSec Legal there is no need for expensive dictation equipment;
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OutSec Legal offers a free dictation app to customers. This allows legal dictation files to be recorded on your smartphone or tablet;
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With OutSec Legal there are no contracts, no monthly fees, no minimum spends or hidden fees. The service is on a pay-as-you-go basis, meaning you are in control;
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OutSec Legal has been designed exclusively for the legal sector to offer the best quality remote legal typing and legal document production, formatting and editing services at cost-effective pricing;
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OutSec Legal's services are perfect for sole practitioners, barristers, mediators, law costs draftsmen, law firms, in-house legal departments and barrister's chambers;
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​​OutSec Legal are able to work with your existing legal precedents, legal templates or lists of standard paragraphs;
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Our document production specialists can even improve upon existing templates or precedents for you to improve productivity;
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OutSec Legal offers multi-voice transcription. We can transcribe recorded remote meetings and provide Zoom transcription., Microsoft Teams transcription & Skype transcription;
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We can also work directly with your existing case management software such as Proclaim, ALB, Ochresoft, Intelliworks, LEAP, Visualfiles and many more;
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OutSec Legal can integrate with leading digital dictation software platforms such as BigHand, Dictamen, Olympus ODMS and Philips Speechwrite;
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OutSec Legal is based in the United Kingdom and is a UK-registered company;
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OutSec Legal offers copy typing, fix and format, file conversion and legal authoring services to name but a few;
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OutSec Legal provides itemised billing each month, so you know what you have spent and when;