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Microsoft Teams – what’s new and what can it do for our legal department?

The latest release of Microsoft Teams introduces a range of new features designed to enhance collaboration, communication, and productivity. Here are some of the main new features that can benefit corporate legal departments: 

 

1. Customizable templates: Legal departments often deal with a wide range of documents, from contracts to legal opinions. Microsoft Teams now allows you to create custom templates for these documents, which can save you a lot of time and streamline your workflow. You can also add fields for important information such as client names and dates, making it easier to manage and track your documents. 

 

2. Power Apps integration: Power Apps is a low-code application development platform that allows you to build your own apps quickly and easily. With the latest release of Microsoft Teams, you can now integrate Power Apps directly into your Teams channels. This means that you can create custom apps for your legal department, such as an app for tracking billable hours or managing client communications, and access them directly within Teams. 

 

3. Multi-window support: Multi-window support is a highly anticipated feature that has finally arrived with the latest release of Microsoft Teams. This means that you can now open multiple Teams windows simultaneously, which can be incredibly useful for legal professionals who need to work on several tasks at once. For example, you can have one window open for document review and another for communicating with colleagues. 

 

4. Cortana voice assistant: The latest release of Microsoft Teams also includes Cortana, Microsoft’s voice assistant. You can use Cortana to set reminders, schedule meetings, and make calls, all without leaving Teams. This can be particularly useful for legal professionals who are on the go or need to manage their schedule quickly and efficiently. 

 

5. Live transcription and translation: Microsoft Teams now offers live transcription and translation, which can be incredibly useful for legal professionals who work with international clients or need to review documents in different languages. With this feature, you can have real-time captions of your conversations, and you can also translate messages into your preferred language. 

 

These are just a few of the new features that can benefit corporate legal departments in the latest release of Microsoft Teams. With these new tools, legal professionals can streamline their workflow, improve collaboration and communication, and work more efficiently. As Microsoft Teams’ capabilities continue to grow, it’s essential that legal professionals stay up-to-date to ensure they are offering the best possible service to their business. Sign up to our Microsoft for Legal community to remain informed.