Customer Reviews

Microsoft Word 2002 for Law Firms w/CD (Miscellaneous)

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As a long-time user of Word in a legal environment, I have purchased every edition of this book from _Word 97 for Law Firms_ onward.

I am pleased to report that this book sustains the high quality that so interested me in the first version. New, and particularly noteworthy, was an expanded section containing a point-by-point list of new features of Word, and improved old features of Word (although I disagree with a few characterizations). The text as a whole, however, does not assume that you used previous versions of Word, so novices need not fear. The take-away message from this review is that if you use Word XP in a law firm, you must have this book.

Another new feature, and unique to computer books AFAIK, is a chapter on "Document Forensics." It's handy to have curative suggestions collected in a single chapter.

My chief quibble--I can't even call it a complaint--is that the book appears to have a slight orientation toward users who are word processors in high-budget big firm environments. I would like to see a little more thought devoted to the needs of the sole practitioner attorney producing her own documents without staff.

For example, when discussing the Pleading Wizard, the text dismissively says, "Most law firms choose to skip the Pleading Wizard and deploy a third-party solution." Excuse me? Perhaps most big law firms do, but if so, why? A discussion of the technical problems, and how to circumvent them if you don't want to go third-party after shelling out a lot of money on Office XP, would be in order. I have never seen a technical discussion of how to alter the pleading paper created by the Pleading Wizard, and I can't be the only person who doesn't like the standard options.

I also think that the book is a bit thin on its discussion of VBA and of using Word in document assembly with information supplied from a database. Perhaps these topics are considered too advanced for this book's target audience, in which case may I beg the excellent authors to consider a companion volume to this work.

As a former diehard WordPerfect user who was dragged kicking and screaming into the world of Microsoft Word I have to say 'Word 2002 For Law Firms' has helped to resolve most of the bias and trepidation I previously held towards Word. This book is well written and enjoyable to read. It is obvious that the authors have a great deal of experience in the legal field. Having read through other books on Microsoft Word, I found this one to be particularly useful (and superior) and focused for legal professionals who require a specific set of information. Great hands on exercises and insightful tips helped me understand many of those Word features that previously 'drove me crazy!' I highly recommend this book to those legal users who truly want to understand Word.

I was taught Word last year by Payne Consulting so when I saw this book, I picked it up. The book, just like the classes are of the highest caliber. The first chapter on what is new and improved was especially helpful. I also liked the chapters on numbering, styles, and document forensics. The whole book is outstanding and I highly recommend it.

Word 2002 for Law Firms is a comprehensive `must have' for law firms, government agencies, and corporate counsel who wish to use Word 2002 successfully in a legal environment. The book was written by Payne Consulting Group who were members of the original Legal Advisory Council to Microsoft and who worked with the developers and product planners to help make Word 2002 a better fit for legal professionals. The inside cover of the book in fact includes a letter from Microsoft written specifically for this book.

Since Word 2002 for Law Firms is a follow up to Payne's other books for the legal community (Word 2000 for Law Firms and Word 97 for Law Firms), reader suggestions were incorporated into the book (with all new content). For example, the book includes a CD-ROM with exercise files and includes supplemental files not in the book such as a lengthy exercise on financial tables. This makes the book easier to use in a classroom setting. Other significant improvements include using Word with a document management system; a comprehensive review of each new and improved feature, and a chapter on document forensics that discusses why good documents go bad, how to fix them, and how to prevent it from happening in the first place. The chapter concludes with tips from experts both in and outside of Payne.

The book includes 21 chapters and three appendices: Chapter 1: In Brief: What's New, Chapter 2: Word 101, Chapter 3: The Word Environment, Chapter 4: Building a Legal Document, Chapter 5: Formatting Text, Chapter 6: Formatting a Paragraph, Chapter 7: Formatting a Document, Chapter 8: Bullets and Numbering, Chapter 9: Styles, Chapter 10: Templates, Chapter 11: Using Tools in a Legal Environment, Chapter 12: Using Tables in Legal Documents, Chapter 13: Legal Forms and Fields, Chapter 14: Agreements, Briefs and Other Long Documents, Chapter 15: Document Collaboration, Chapter 16: Mail Merge, Chapter 17: Graphically Speaking, Chapter 18: Microsoft Office Integration: Tying it All Together, Chapter 19: Document Conversion, Chapter 20: Document Forensics, Chapter 21: Macros. The three appendices include: Resources, Available Settings in the Options Dialog Box, and Keyboard Shortcuts. Also included is a Glossary and Index.

This book has been endorsed by Microsoft, other training companies, law firms and corporate counsel. Microsoft Word is used in law firms for legal briefs, templates, pleadings, and much more! Everything changes in this new release of Word so legal professionals will need a guide to stay current as this product advances. That is why every law office needs a copy of Word 2002 for Law Firms!

As a forced convert from Word Perfect, I was looking for a resource that would allow me to do two things: (1) learn Microsoft Word; and (2) integrate it into my practice.

Ms. Payne's book helped me with the first task and made Word a much easier program for me to utilize.

I was somewhat disappointed, however, in the second aspect. I would like to automate my litigation documents to a greater extent, but I couldn't fully realize this goal. At the end of the day, I'd like to turn out better, more polished legal documents, but, I think there are some limitations in either my own understanding or the software that prevent me from being as effective as I'd like. At more than 700 pages, Ms. Payne's book certainly contains a good deal of information and suggestions as to how Word can be used in a law firm environment, but I found it to be most helpful as a Microsoft Word resource.

The legal industry pushes documentation applications to the max. I had never been a major fan of previous versions of Word as a user *and* a technical trainer. Microsoft has finally introduced a version of Word I can train users in without having to be the bearer of bad news to my students with "You can but..." WordPerfect fans can't chortle anymore. Does this version of Word knock the socks off of WordPerfect? Not exactly. Can it compete? You better believe it.

And now for the book review. It was a joy to read. How about that? This one isn't dry like the other book that will remain nameless. No hard feelings really. Kitty shredded it. Perhaps, kitty isn't as dumb as I thought.

I'm probably my worst student. I've got the attention span of gold fish. For me, it's get to the point, I'll pass on the fluff, and tell me something I don't already know. This is the strongest introduction to Word specifically for the legal industry *and,* dare I say, power users. Very few errors. Solid exercises. I highly recommend it for newbies and self-proclaimed experts alike. There's something for everyone. It's a good read and their tips & tricks are valueable. This one's a keeper from home desk to brief case to office.

Bravo/Brava Payne Consulting Group!

Highly recommended for anyone in the legal field from attorneys to support staff. Examples and exercises are applicable to the law office and not only explain how to do a particular task but why. The CD included with the book contains files which enable the user to practice and get valuable hands-on experience with legal documents.

Any law firm that uses MS Word has been influenced by the work of Payne Consulting. Payne Consulting was in a conference that went into a committee that worked closely with MS to influence Word and to make it compatible to what law firms got used to with Word Perfect. Interestingly, Word finally has a feature that offers you the opportunity to recover documents if you had not saved it the day before.....wow.....why didn't they do that for corporations.

Well, if you are a Word Perfect user in a law firm today, you will want to open up new vistas by learning MS Word for Law Firms. I recruit in Legal, and this tool is useful to improving your skills and making a transition to a larger law firm possible.

I purchased this book because I heard Ms. Payne speak at a seminar in Washington, DC on Office XP and was impressed by her knowledge. After reading this book, I'm even more impressed. Payne knows things about Word that I haven't heard anywhere else and I've been using Word for years. The whole book is very good but I found the document forensics chapter and the section on using the troubleshooting utility especially helpful. The book includes a CD with exercises. I haven't spent a lot of time going through the CD yet but at first glance it seems to be well organized. I highly recommend this book.

The book weighs a ton and there's lots packed in it. Have not attempted to use the CD-ROM. Index helped me find specific answers to specific issues, since I don't know the program at all and had to hit the ground running. Have not been able to find answers to more esoteric matters, but the book has been invaluable for my quick-fix situations. Legal-specific and more useful on a daily basis than the "Dummies" book my boss bought. Thank you, Payne Consulting Group!!!