MyCase runs in the browser, so voice input works in every text field the moment your caret sits inside it — no plugin, no dictation add-on, no per-seat licence. The hard part was never the typing speed. It was writing the note hours later, after three more calls, when the detail has already faded. This guide covers the workflow attorneys and paralegals actually use: capture by voice within minutes of the work, then spend one editing pass making it defensible.
Turn on voice input for MyCase
Mac: click into the MyCase field, then press the Fn key twice to start dictation.
Windows: click into the field and press Windows + H to open voice typing.
Chromebook: enable Dictation under Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard and input.
iPhone or iPad in the MyCase app: tap the field, then the microphone on the keyboard.
Always set the caret first — voice input writes into the focused field only, and switching fields ends the session.
Case notes, time entries, and client messages are three different shapes
The single biggest quality gain is knowing which of the three you are speaking before you start. A case note carries the story of the matter for whoever opens the file next — chronology, who said what, what changed. A time entry has to justify a charge to a client and, if it comes to it, to a fee reviewer: it names the task, the subject, and the outcome, not the feeling. A client message is written to a non-lawyer who is anxious and skimming: short sentences, plain words, one clear next step. Dictating all three in the same register is what makes files read flat and invoices get queried.
Dictating a billable time entry that survives review
Lead with the verb: "Reviewed", "Drafted", "Attended call with", "Prepared".
Name the document or person, not the vague activity — "reviewed defendant's amended answer", not "case work".
Say the outcome or the deliverable in the same sentence so value is visible.
Avoid block-billing several tasks into one dictated sentence; speak one entry per task.
Keep it to one or two sentences. Long entries invite line-item disputes, not trust.
Dictating a case note the next attorney can use
Speak in chronological order and say the punctuation out loud — "period", "comma", "new line" — so the note arrives already broken into readable blocks instead of one wall of text. Start with the date and the event, then what was said or decided, then what it means for strategy, then the next action and who owns it. Say a name once in full and then use initials, both because it dictates more reliably and because it keeps the note tight. If a deadline came out of the conversation, say it as its own sentence so it is impossible to miss on a later skim.
Draft client messages in Zahvox first
Anything a client will read is worth a second pass. Dictate the raw thought into the free Zahvox tool at /tool, cut the hedging and the legalese, then paste the tightened version into MyCase. The reason is practical rather than stylistic: dictation into a live field tempts you to send the first pass, and a first pass usually contains a caveat that reads as bad news. Two minutes of editing outside the client-facing surface is the cheapest reassurance you can send.
Confidentiality and privilege before convenience
Browser and operating-system dictation send short audio clips to a speech recognition service. That is a real consideration in legal work, not a footnote. Use client initials or a matter number out loud instead of full names, keep account numbers, dates of birth, and settlement figures off the mic, and check your firm's policy and your jurisdiction's confidentiality rules before dictating anything privileged. A workable habit: speak the structure and the reasoning, then type the identifiers and the numbers by keyboard directly into MyCase. Zahvox itself stores nothing on a server — text stays in your browser and disappears when you close the tab — but your professional obligations, not any tool's marketing, are the authority.
Legal vocabulary and honest accuracy expectations
Accuracy depends on your microphone, room noise, accent, and pace. Case citations, Latin terms, medication names in personal-injury work, and unusual party names are the reliable misses. Add the terms you use weekly to your operating system's dictation dictionary where that is supported, speak citations slowly, and always read a note before saving it to the file. Voice input shortens the draft; it never replaces your review.
Where the time actually goes
Firms usually try to fix documentation load by typing faster. The real leak is recall: an entry written at 6pm for a 10am call takes longer and says less, and it is where unbilled time quietly disappears. Dictating within a few minutes of the task takes two to three minutes instead of ten, and captures detail you would otherwise have lost. Across a day of six or seven billable events, that is close to an hour returned and a more complete file at the same time.
A repeatable end-of-task habit
Finish the call or the document, then dictate before opening the next thing.
Speak the time entry first — it is the one that pays for the minute you just spent.
Then the case note, in chronological order, with the next action last.
Batch client messages once, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, drafted in Zahvox.
Review everything in one pass at the end of the day, never at the start of the next.
