Time is money in the legal profession and there are better things to do with one’s precious working hours than endlessly proofreading documents and checking legislation and case law references manually.

Now, professionals can draft legal documents without distraction, with more accuracy and more speed, all within the Microsoft Word environment, thanks to Lexis® Check from LexisNexis South Africa.

As the first tool of its kind in South Africa, Lexis® Check is a simple, independent toolbar that works with Microsoft® Word to save time on case law and legislation checks, enabling you to create accurate, clear and error-free legal documents with confidence.

Reinforcing the importance of using accurate and up-to-date legislation and case law references in legal documents, Judge Fabricius said in Multi-links Telecommunications Ltd v Africa Prepaid [2013] 4 All SA 346 (GNP), “I do expect counsel and attorneys to read the law reports as they are published, as they may have a vital impact on litigation with which they are busy. Counsel should be up to date with recent authorities in their field of practice and authority that relates to the subject matter at hand when they appear in court.”

Judge Wunsh also noted in Ex parte Hay Management Consultants [2000] 2 All SA 592 (W), “While counsel and attorneys may not be expected to read the law reports as they are published and recall their contents or effect, if they have to present argument on a matter, the least that is expected of them is to consult the relevant text books, the consolidated indexes of and noters-up to the ordinary law reports and the indexes of and noters-up in weekly or monthly reports which have been published after the effective date of the latest consolidated index and noter-up. I do not mention the computer services that are available to retrieve material. If counsel does not possess his or her own copies of the reports, the bar library or the court library can be consulted. Regrettably this is a shortcoming which happens too often.”

With over 75% of users agreeing that Lexis® Check is a time-saving tool that provides assurance of accuracy, here are five ways it can help you in advancing your practice of law:

Deliver quality service.

Lexis® Check is a standalone solution, but is powered by the LexisNexis ecosystem of interconnected legal resources, integrating seamlessly from right within your Word document to leverage content and functionality from the unmatched legal research platform Lexis® Library. The highly polished legal documents that Lexis Check helps you to produce, will make a better impression on your clients. Save time and money.

Not only is Lexis® Check an affordable solution, but it allows you to reduce the time you spend on documentation. And as a legal professional who likely sends out multiple documents a week, you can then spend this time focusing on higher-value legal work for your clients. This better enables you to meet the needs of clients looking for timeous, more cost-efficient services and fixed fees.

Create accurate and up-to-date legal documents.

With Lexis Check®, legislation references are checked against Lexis® Library’s national legislation database, while case law references are checked against the Legal Citator database to give users a red / green / amber indicator that lets them know if they’re using the most accurate and up-to-date case law for their argument. Lexis® Check scans your document, flags legislation and case law references that need your attention and links directly to Lexis® Library services without leaving Microsoft® Word.

Make fewer mistakes.

It’s very easy for someone who’s drafting a document and buried in the detail to miss out on things. With Lexis® Check, you can have more confidence that your legal document is free of errors pertaining to cross-referencing and statutory references.

Have happier legal professionals.

Without the headache of proofreading and manual checking, legal professionals can spend more time doing the things they do and love best, adding value to clients and their employers. Lexis® Check is a tool that can make your working life better, improve client service and reduce the amount of time you have to spend on low-value work.

Keen to save time on your own case law and legislation checks with this authoritative, integrated, simple and affordable solution? Let LexisNexis contact you and show you how.