How to prepare case documents hands-free for lawyers in 2026

Steps to dictate case documents hands-free, with the tools to try, the mistakes to avoid and things to check before you choose.

By XP Daily · 2026-10-12

XP Daily is published by the makers of DaysAid, QuickDictate and YTSort, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Gather your case materials, draft a structured outline, prepare exact citations, open your document window and dictate with a tool that types what you say. QuickDictate, made by the team that publishes this site, types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1]

Option	Own fee	Card fee
QuickDictate	Free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account ^[1]	Not published
ElevenLabs	Not published	Not published
Deepgram	Not published	Not published
OpenAI	Not published	Not published
AssemblyAI	Not published	Not published
DashScope	Not published	Not published
Google	Not published	Not published

What you need before you start

Preparing case documents hands-free takes a few things ready before you begin.

The case materials. Client files, witness statements, contracts, discovery responses and the relevant court orders need to be at hand, because what you dictate is easier to keep accurate when the materials are in view.
A structured outline. A short plan of the sections and the legal points each one covers keeps the dictation on track and stops long, rambling paragraphs.
Exact citations. Statutes, precedents, docket numbers and record cites in standard form help stop a wrong case name or a wrong section from entering the draft.
A way to type what is said. A tool or service that turns speech into text, or a recorder for someone else to transcribe, is the core of a hands-free setup.
A quiet place to speak. Dictating case facts needs a room where phone calls and background noise do not interrupt the flow.
A document window ready. The editor, filing form or email should be open and in front before you start.

Set aside an uninterrupted block before you begin substantive drafting. Switching between research, phone calls and dictation breaks your flow and can lead to drafting errors.

Step by step

These steps work with any setup, including a handheld recorder, a speech-to-text service or a program that types what you say.

Gather the case materials. Assemble client files, witness statements, contracts, discovery responses and relevant court orders where you can see them. Having the primary materials in view can help keep your dictation accurate.
Draft a structured outline. Write the legal skeleton with section headings and the key elements each section must cover. A clear outline can reduce hesitation in the middle of a paragraph.
Prepare a citation list. Note the statutes, precedents, docket numbers and record cites in their exact form. With the right cites in front of you, the dictated text is more likely to carry the correct legal references.
Open the window you want to type into. Bring the editor to the front so it has focus before you start speaking.
Check recognition for names and terms. Set a spelling correction for anything the recogniser hears wrong.
Dictate in one pass. Speak a section at a time, pausing between paragraphs, and keep the same window active throughout. Stopping to switch apps can put text in the wrong place.
Use a discard command when needed. If a line comes out wrong, say the command that removes the last dictated text before moving on. Check which command your tool understands first.
Read the draft back. Read the dictated document once, aloud if possible, catching wrong names, wrong cites and sentences that do not make sense.
Fix and re-file. Correct the errors, adjust the spelling and vocabulary lists for anything repeated, and save a clean version in the case file.
Review a later session. If the tool keeps mishearing a term, update its vocabulary and language settings instead of retyping the same words each time.

Tools that can do it

Software is one option to consider. Here are options to consider.

A handheld recorder. You record your dictation and have it typed later, or a speech-to-text service converts it while you work. Nothing is published here about price or limits because it depends on what you already own.

Your existing office suite. A word processor with a speech-to-text feature types what you say into the document you have open. Check how it handles legal terms, citations and unusual names before you rely on it.

QuickDictate. QuickDictate is made by the team that publishes this site. QuickDictate is one option. A Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1] What you say is typed into whichever window has focus, such as an editor, chat box, terminal or web form. ^[1] You hold a key while you talk, or press it once to start and once to stop, and you can change both keys. ^[1]

You can use ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google, and that provider bills you directly. ^[1] Those are separate companies that handle speech recognition; you connect your own account with each, and it bills you for its own service. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking, so you can see and correct your words as you dictate. ^[1] Choose Local in Settings and install a speech model such as Whisper Large v3 Turbo; dictation then needs no internet connection or API key. ^[1]

A replacement table fixes spellings such as "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT", and you can list words and phrases that are sent to the provider to help it recognise them. ^[1] Saying "scratch that" discards the text you just dictated instead of inserting it; it is the only voice command shipped. ^[1] Profiles can change the provider, language, vocabulary and formatting depending on which app is in focus. ^[1] While you are dictating, other apps' audio is muted or turned down, and it goes back to its old level when you stop. ^[1]

You can browse and filter your last 50 dictations in Settings, and the history survives a restart or self-update. ^[1] If you sign in, you can sync preferences such as hotkeys and language between PCs. ^[1]

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account, and cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1] It runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11. ^[1] It is delivered as an .exe file on GitHub, with a built-in updater that works silently; it can also be built from source. ^[1] From v0.9.0 on, it is source-available under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, with commercial use needing a separate licence, and releases up to v0.8.0 were MIT. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Dictating before the facts are gathered. If you speak before the case materials are in front of you, the draft can miss a claim or a deadline. Assemble the evidence first.

Dictating without a citation list. Legal arguments depend on exact statutes and precedents. Without the cites in front of you, a case name or a statute section is more likely to go wrong, so keep a prepared reference list on the desk.

Stopping and starting the flow. Pausing to search the web or answer a call mid-dictation can interrupt the dictation. Keep the main document window open, dictate in one pass, then revise.

Trusting the transcript without a read. Read the dictated document once aloud before you file or send it. A glance skips a wrong case name or a corrected spelling.

Forgetting names and phrases the recogniser does not know. Law firms have case names and terms that a tool may not hear correctly. Add them to the replacement list before you start.

Never reviewing the setup. If the tool mishears a legal term or a name, check the vocabulary and language settings and change them instead of retyping every time.

Frequently asked questions

Is QuickDictate free for lawyers?

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1] From v0.9.0 on, commercial use needs a separate licence under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. ^[1] A lawyer or firm charging for the work should check the licence terms for that use before relying on the free version.

Can QuickDictate type case documents without an internet connection?

Yes. Choose Local in Settings and install a speech model such as Whisper Large v3 Turbo, and dictation then needs no internet connection or API key. ^[1] The offline option is one way to keep client dictation on the machine rather than sending it to a cloud provider. It is worth checking which models the current version supports before committing to an offline setup.

Can QuickDictate type into a court filing system or an email?

Yes. What you say is typed into whichever window has focus, such as an editor, chat box, terminal or web form. ^[1] Profiles can change the provider, language, vocabulary and formatting depending on which app is in focus. ^[1]

Which speech recognition services can QuickDictate use?

QuickDictate works with ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google, and that provider bills you directly. ^[1] These are separate companies that handle speech recognition; you connect your own account with each. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. ^[1] For work without a provider, Local mode with an installed speech model is available. ^[1]

How does QuickDictate handle legal terms and unusual case names?

You can list words and phrases that are sent to the provider to help it recognise them, and a replacement table fixes spellings such as "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT". ^[1] Saying "scratch that" discards the text you just dictated instead of inserting it. ^[1]

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1]

Try QuickDictate

Sources

QuickDictate's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)