Microsoft Word
Briefs, contracts, and motions
Full Text Control lets you dictate, select, correct, and format in Word, including dictating into comments during review.
v16The legal edition of Dragon Professional
Dragon Legal 16: dictation that speaks the law
Draft briefs, contracts, motions, and correspondence up to 3 times faster than typing. A legal language model gets the terminology right, and citations come out abbreviated and punctuated as you speak.
- Developed by Nuance, a Microsoft company
- Word, Outlook, and WordPerfect
- Windows 10 and 11
- Legal model trained on400M+Words from legal documents
- Dictation is3xFaster than typing
- Up to160Words a minute
- Built on25+ yearsNuance speech recognition
Only in Dragon Legal
Say the citation. Dragon formats it.
No stopping to check abbreviations, periods, and parentheses. Dragon Legal abbreviates and punctuates legal citations and section numbers automatically, and any of them is easy to correct by voice.
Legal citations
- "five california appeals fourth one"5 Cal. App. 4th 1
- "federal rule of criminal procedure one"Fed. R. Crim. P. 1
- "two sixty two alabama two eighty five nineteen eighty seven"262 Ala. 285 (1987)
- "one four six appellate division second five three seven"146 A.D.2d 537
- "six eighty seven atlantic second forty seven pennsylvania commonwealth court nineteen ninety six"687 A.2d 47 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1996)
Section numbering
- "ten sub e"10(E)
- "ten sub lowercase e"10(e)
- "ten sub seven"10(7)
- "ten sub seven sub eight sub e"10(7)(8)(E)
Say "sub" or "parens" for each subsection level. Dragon also capitalizes many common legal terms, proper names, and phrases automatically.
Examples from Nuance's Dragon Legal 16 documentation, using U.S. reporters. Citation formatting and section numbering are not available in Dragon Professional 16.
Legal vocabulary
Fluent in legal language from the first dictation
General dictation tools stumble on terms of art, statutory references, and party names. Dragon Legal starts with a vocabulary built from legal documents and keeps learning the words and phrases you use most.
"If I say a new phrase, I add it right away, with just a few seconds of training. It saves a lot of time in the long run because I use a lot of references to various organizations, laws, and so forth every day."
Everyday vocabulary
The full Dragon Professional 16 vocabulary for business writing, email, and correspondence.
Legal language model
Trained on more than 400 million words from legal documents, built to handle the Latin and French law terms, reporter names, and abbreviations legal writing depends on.
Your firm and your matters
Client names, parties, opposing counsel, and practice-area terms. Add them one at a time, import a whole list, and set exactly how each one should appear on the page.
Clause commands
Your standard language, one phrase away
Legal documents repeat themselves. Turn the clauses, letters, and blocks you type every week into short voice commands, with fill-in fields for the details that change.
- Standard clauses and boilerplate inserted with a short spoken phrase
- Signature blocks and letterheads, formatted, on command
- Fill-in templates with blanks for client, matter, and fee, filled by saying "Next field"
- Macro Recorder replays a multi-step task, such as a series of clicks and keystrokes, by voice
- Share custom commands and word lists within the firm or department
Dictate now, review later
Nobody retypes a recording again
Keep the dictate-and-review workflow your office already knows, without anyone typing every word from the audio.
Dictate away from your desk
Record a letter or memo on a digital recorder between appointments or after a client meeting.
Dragon transcribes it
The Auto Transcribe Folder Agent turns recordings in a folder into documents automatically, with the audio embedded.
Review instead of retype
You or an assistant play back the embedded audio and correct the draft, rather than typing it from scratch.
"The secretaries love it, thanks to Dragon managing the transcription. Now, they simply copy and paste the text into the right document template. This means Dragon helped to completely clear the backlog, while the time it takes to create a letter is down from one hour to approximately 15 minutes."
Transcription works with recordings of a single speaker. It is not designed for depositions, hearings, or meetings.
Works where legal work happens
Legal dictation in Word, WordPerfect, and Outlook
No new drafting software to learn. Dragon Legal works inside the programs your office already runs.
WordPerfect
Corel WordPerfect 2021
Dragon Legal 16 supports WordPerfect 2021, so firms and public-sector legal offices that still draft in WordPerfect can dictate there too.
Outlook
Client email and correspondence
Dictate replies and status updates at the speed you talk, then send them by voice.
Everything else
Any Windows program
For programs without Full Text Control, the Dictation Box lets you dictate first and transfer the text in one step.
The whole legal team
Legal speech recognition for every seat in the firm
Partners, associates, and support staff get the same speed, vocabulary, and citation formatting. Pick a role to see what changes first.
For solo practitioners, associates, and in-house counsel
Draft at the speed you think
Briefs, contracts, motions, and memos come out as fast as you can speak them, with legal terms and citations formatted along the way. Routine flat-rate work stops eating its own margin.
- Dictate full drafts into Word or WordPerfect
- Citations and section numbers formatted as you speak
- Insert standard clauses and signature blocks by voice
- Draft from a recorder between appointments and review later
"I have used Dragon since 1995 and now almost all of my written legal work is accomplished through voice dictation instead of typing. It is a great product that has saved me an incalculable amount of time."
For paralegals, legal assistants, and legal secretaries
Correct the draft instead of typing it
When attorneys dictate, Dragon does the typing and support staff do the higher-value work: reviewing, formatting, and assembling the final document.
- Edit transcribed drafts while listening to the embedded audio
- Fill in templates and forms by voice, field by field
- Clear email and correspondence in Outlook
- Keep shared word lists so names are spelled the same way every time
"One method we utilize is to dictate to an email to be put into final version by a paralegal. We have found that superior to sending an audio file and it's much easier to do."
For partners, practice managers, and legal department heads
More output without more headcount
Every hour of typing is an hour that is not billed. Dragon Legal lowers transcription costs, shortens document turnaround, and frees support staff for higher-value tasks across the firm.
- Lower outsourced transcription and administrative overtime
- Faster turnaround on letters, drafts, and client updates
- Separate custom vocabularies for legal, HR, or accounting staff
- Volume licensing for firms and legal departments of any size
"We needed to find a way to deal with the backlog and the extra clients without the expenditure that comes from increasing head count."
For court reporters and legal transcriptionists
Less keyboard time for the people who type the most
Dictate your own correspondence, notes, and summaries, and let short voice commands insert the certificates, captions, and boilerplate you type over and over.
- Insert standard certificates and captions with Auto-text
- Build word lists for party names, attorneys, and technical terms
- Transcribe recordings of your own voice into editable text
- Reduce strain with less keyboard and mouse use
Dragon transcribes a single speaker. It does not transcribe depositions, hearings, or other multi-speaker proceedings, or produce official transcripts.
The business case
What is typing costing your practice?
Estimate the hours your attorneys and staff spend at the keyboard, and what they are worth at your rate.
Estimate only. It assumes dictation is 3 times faster than typing for the time spent typing, across 250 working days a year. Actual results depend on the person and the work.
Estimated time back each year
1,000hours
- Per person
- 333 hrs
- 40-hour weeks back
- 25
- Value of that time
- $250,000
Choosing an edition
Dragon Legal 16 vs. Dragon Professional 16
Same speech engine and the same everyday features. Dragon Legal adds the three things legal documents need most.
FeatureDragon Professional 16Dragon Legal 16
Legal language model trained on 400M+ words
Automatic legal citation formatting
Legal section numbering, such as 10(7)(8)(E)
Dictation 3x faster than typing
Custom words and importable word lists
Auto-text, Step-by-Step commands, and Macro Recorder
Single-speaker transcription with embedded audio
Word, Outlook, and WordPerfect 2021 support
Hands-free control with MouseGrid on up to 3 monitors
In their words
What attorneys say about Dragon
Video testimonial
Hear how a Massachusetts attorney works with Dragon Legal
Robert D'Auria, an attorney in Bedford, Massachusetts, walks through how dictating with Dragon Legal fits into the daily work of his law practice.
Robert D'AuriaAttorney at Law, Bedford, MA
"[Dragon] is incredibly accurate, fast and an extremely important tool to my practice. I estimate that, by using [Dragon], my firm has saved tens of thousands of dollars... and has substantially increased our individual productivity."
"People speak at a much higher speed than most people can type. Being able to dictate a memorandum in a few minutes as opposed to typing the information has proven invaluable to our firm."
"I expected it to be much lower and with a prohibitive learning curve. In practice, however, I found the software easy and fun to use."
Testimonials describe Dragon speech recognition, including earlier Dragon Legal versions.
Get started
Buy Dragon Legal 16
Install it on your Windows PC, connect a noise-cancelling headset, and dictate your next draft.
- Everything in Dragon Professional 16
- Legal language model, citation formatting, and section numbering
- Clause commands, fill-in templates, and the Macro Recorder
- Transcription of single-speaker recordings with embedded audio
- Hands-free control of Windows, Word, Outlook, and WordPerfect
Upgrading?
Version 16 keeps your setup
- Dragon Legal 13, 14, and 15 upgrade automatically
- Custom words and commands come with you
- No need to uninstall the old version first
- Own Dragon Professional 16? Ask us about upgrading it to Legal
Licensing a firm, or not sure which upgrade fits?Schedule a Consultation
System requirements
Optimized for Windows 11 and Office 2021. Windows only, with no Mac version.
- Operating system
- Windows 10 or 11
- Processor
- 2.2 GHz dual core
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM minimum
- Disk space
- 12 GB free
- Microphone
- Noise-cancelling
FAQ
Dragon Legal 16: common questions
Licensing a firm?
Talk to a Dragon specialist about quantities, upgrades, and rollout for your practice or legal department.
Schedule a ConsultationWhat does Dragon Legal 16 add to Dragon Professional 16?
Dragon Legal 16 includes everything in Dragon Professional 16, plus a legal language model trained on more than 400 million words from legal documents, automatic legal citation formatting, and legal section numbering.
See Dragon Professional 16Does Dragon Legal understand Latin legal terms?
The legal vocabulary is built to handle the Latin and French law terms, reporter names, and abbreviations common in legal writing. If a term, case name, or client name is missing, add it to your vocabulary in seconds, with the exact spelling and formatting you want.
How does citation formatting work?
Say the citation naturally and Dragon abbreviates and punctuates it. For example, "five california appeals fourth one" becomes 5 Cal. App. 4th 1, and "federal rule of criminal procedure one" becomes Fed. R. Crim. P. 1. The documented examples are U.S. reporters, and any citation is easy to correct by voice.
Does Dragon Legal work in WordPerfect?
Yes. Dragon Legal 16 supports Corel WordPerfect 2021, along with Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel. For other Windows programs, the Dictation Box lets you dictate and then transfer the text.
Can Dragon Legal transcribe depositions, hearings, or client meetings?
No. Transcription is built for recordings of a single speaker, such as your own dictation on a digital recorder. It is not designed for depositions, hearings, meetings, or calls with several people talking.
Where is Dragon Legal 16 installed?
Dragon Legal 16 is desktop software installed on your Windows PC. An internet connection is needed to download and activate it, and briefly to move a voice profile to another computer. For confidentiality and data-handling questions specific to your firm, schedule a consultation.
Schedule a ConsultationDoes it work with our practice-management or document-management software?
Dragon dictates into virtually any Windows application, with Full Text Control in programs like Word and the Dictation Box for everything else. A consultation is the best way to check the specific programs your firm uses.
Schedule a ConsultationWe use Dragon Legal 15. How do we upgrade?
Installing Dragon Legal 16 upgrades versions 13, 14, and 15 automatically and keeps your custom words and commands, with no need to uninstall first. Upgrade license eligibility depends on what you own, so confirm it with us before buying.
Schedule a ConsultationI already own Dragon Professional 16. Can I upgrade to Legal?
Dragon Professional 16 can be upgraded to Dragon Legal 16 with an upgrade license key. You then create a new Legal user profile, so export your custom words and commands first and import them afterward.
Schedule a ConsultationCan the whole firm share vocabularies and commands?
Yes. Custom words, word lists, and commands can be shared within the firm or department, and different groups can keep their own vocabularies, such as attorneys versus HR or accounting staff.
What microphone should I use?
Use a noise-cancelling microphone or headset. Built-in computer microphones and webcams are not suitable for dictation.
Does Dragon Legal run on a Mac?
No. Dragon Legal 16 runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11 only.
How long does it take to learn?
If you have ever dictated to an assistant or into a recorder, you already know the basics. Speak naturally, and say "What can I say" whenever you want to see the commands available.
Spend your hours on the law, not the keyboard
Dragon Legal 16 for Windows: legal vocabulary, citations formatted as you speak, and your standard clauses on command.