Dictation Software for Solo Attorneys and Small Law Firms
Stenograph is dictation software for a solo attorney or a firm of two to ten people who have no secretary pool and no IT department. You press a hotkey in Word, Outlook or your case management system, speak, and the text lands at the cursor with punctuation, paragraphs and the spelling of your clients, courts and defined terms already right. The same account dictates on a Mac, a Windows PC and a phone, and it transcribes recorded calls and interviews. Solo costs 24 USD a month billed yearly, and every price is published.
Dictate a few sentences and see the finished text
Try Stenograph on your own voice
Record up to 30 seconds, or pick a ready-made recording, and see clean, formatted text with your terms.
This browser cannot record audio. Pick a ready-made recording below to see the formatted result.
Up to 10 words or names, separated by commas. Stenograph spells them exactly as you type them.
More options
Your clip is transcribed and formatted on our servers, and the audio is deleted right after processing. Your words are never used to train AI models.
Stenograph needs your microphone to record. Your browser asks once, and the microphone is on only while you speak.
- Uploading
- Recognizing speech
- Applying your terms
- Formatting
The one-time demo for this browser is complete. Choose a plan to keep dictating with your own terms in every app.
See pricingWhy solo attorneys and small firms look for new dictation software
A large firm can buy a dictation workflow with typists, a server and a support contract. A solo practitioner needs the opposite: something that works the day it is installed and replaces the typing time that never gets billed.
- Unbilled drafting hours. Letters, file notes, demand letters and emails take longer to type than to say, and most of that time is overhead.
- Desktop recognizers tied to one PC. A one time license on a Windows machine does not follow you to a laptop, a home office or a phone.
- Enterprise dictation systems. Secretary queue products are priced and built for firms with staff who type the recordings.
- Raw output. A recognizer that returns a wall of text still leaves the attorney to format it.
- Separate tools for calls. Client interviews and phone calls need a second subscription for transcripts.
What a solo practice gets from one plan
A legal dictionary that is yours
Add client names, opposing counsel, judges, courts, statutes and firm terms once. The dictionary follows you across the desktop apps and the phone, and on Team it is shared across the whole firm.
Drafts that arrive formatted
Say "reply to Mr. Alvarez, confirm the hearing moved to Thursday" and get an email with a greeting, short paragraphs and a sign off. Letters, memos and lists are shaped as you speak, and filler words disappear.
Edit by voice
"Make it more formal", "shorter", "new paragraph" and "delete the last sentence" work without touching the keyboard.
Transcripts of calls and interviews
Record on your own computer or phone, with consent where the law requires it, or upload a file. You get timestamps and speaker labels, exportable to Word, PDF, TXT or SRT. Pro includes 900 transcription minutes a month.
Any app you already use
Word, Outlook, Gmail, Google Docs, Clio, MyCase and any browser text field. There is no separate editor to move text out of.
Options for a solo attorney compared
Prices come from public product and vendor pages and change, so confirm before buying. Stenograph is our product and is not affiliated with the other vendors.
| Stenograph | Dragon Legal | Secretary queue systems | Apple or Windows built in dictation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Solo and small firms drafting their own documents | Windows users who want offline recognition and macros | Firms with a typing pool | Quick notes with no setup |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone, Android | Windows only | Desktop plus phone app | Built into the OS |
| Pricing | Solo 24 USD per month billed yearly, 49 monthly | Contact sales | Per user per month plus add ons | Included with the device |
| Legal dictionary | Personal and shared firm dictionary | Large legal vocabulary | Depends on add on | None |
| Formatting | Letters, memos and emails shaped as you speak | Voice commands | Done by the typist | Raw text |
| Call transcripts | Yes, with speaker labels | No | Human transcription extra | No |
| Works offline | No | Yes | Partly | Partly |
Which small practices use it most
Solo practitioners
One attorney, one laptop, one phone. Solo covers a single user with unlimited dictation.
Small litigation and family law firms
Two to five attorneys sharing a dictionary of courts, judges and local rules. Team is built for up to five people with one invoice.
Estate, real estate and immigration practices
High volume client letters and repeat documents where voice shortens every draft.
See also legal dictation software for the full picture and the use case for lawyers.
When another tool is the better fit
We would rather lose a sale than put you on the wrong tool.
- You work on Windows, want a one time purchase and need to dictate with no internet. Dragon Legal fits better.
- Your firm already runs a secretary queue and the typists are staying. Keep it, see the BigHand alternative and SpeechLive alternative pages for when that stops making sense.
- You need a certified record of a deposition or hearing. Hire a court reporter. No AI tool replaces one.
- You need a business associate agreement. Stenograph does not sign one.
How to start dictating this week
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1
Create the account and pick a plan
Solo is enough for one attorney. Team adds a shared dictionary for up to five people.
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2
Load your names
Add active clients, matters, courts and opposing counsel before the first draft.
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3
Dictate a real letter
Pick a routine letter or email in Word or Outlook, press the hotkey and speak it. Review the draft, not the raw words.
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4
Add the phone
Sign in on your phone and dictate between hearings.
What dictation software for a small firm costs
Solo is 49 USD per month, or 24 USD per month billed yearly, for one person. Pro is 99 USD per month, or 49 USD billed yearly, and adds 900 transcription minutes for recorded interviews and calls. Team is 299 USD per month, or 149 USD billed yearly, for up to five people with a shared dictionary and one invoice. Enterprise is 999 USD per month, or 499 USD billed yearly, for up to 20 people with SSO, SCIM and an audit log. If dictation saves a solo attorney one billable hour a month, Solo has paid for itself.
Questions solo attorneys ask about dictation software
What is the best dictation software for a solo attorney?
It depends on your computer. A Mac user or anyone who also dictates on a phone is best served by Stenograph, with a legal dictionary and formatted drafts from 24 USD a month. A Windows only user who wants offline use and macros may prefer Dragon Legal.
Is dictation software worth it for a small law firm?
Usually, yes. Speaking is several times faster than typing, and letters, emails and file notes are the bulk of unbilled drafting time. The saving grows with every attorney who drafts their own documents instead of passing them to staff.
Can dictation software handle legal terminology?
Yes, if it has a custom dictionary. Add case names, courts, Latin phrases and your clients once and they are spelled correctly in every app. Always review the draft before it leaves the office.
Does dictation work in Clio or Word?
Stenograph types at the cursor in any text field, so it works in Word, Outlook, Gmail, Google Docs and browser based practice management systems such as Clio.
Is client information safe in cloud dictation?
Audio is processed and then deleted, never stored, and your content is never used to train AI models. Stenograph does not sign a business associate agreement, and whether it fits your ethical duties is a decision for your firm.
Draft your next client letter by voice
Install the app, add your names to the dictionary, press the hotkey and speak. The draft arrives formatted and ready for review.