UNIT 7: Using Excel in the Law Office

This Week’s Assignment

SeminarTest2 discussion questions

Do You Use Excel?

Using Excel to Organize

• Spreadsheets can be used to calculate and present financial information

• This financial information can be a part of the case, such as with divorce or estate matters, or can be for administrative purposes, like presenting a bill to a client.

Online and Program Resources

•Just like with the word processing programs, there are resources available within the program and online to help you troubleshoot and learn how to use the software.

•Your textbook offers the websites where you can access the online resources.

Using Excel to Streamline

• Many courts will accept spreadsheets to document information, thereby helping to avoid the need to duplicate information

• Templates are also used for standard matters• Electronic spreadsheets help to reduce errors because

things are calculated automatically instead of manually

Templates

• Many law offices and courts use Excel templates

• Fields are labeled

• Items and dollar amounts left blank for easy fill-in

• Practice areas: real estate, family law, probate

• Microsoft has many templates for downloading

Using Excel Day-to-Day

• So, where do you start?• If you are told to create a document in Excel, would you

know where to begin?

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet

• Standard terms of a spreadsheet are rows, columns, cells, formula bar, and workbooks.

• Rows are horizontal sets of cells

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet

• Columns are vertical sets of cells

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet

• Cells are those boxes where horizontal and vertical meet

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet

• Formula bar is the area at the top of the spreadsheet where you enter text

• Property bar is similar to the formula bar but appears in Corel’s Quattro Pro software

Excel 2010 Ribbon

Click here for a comparison of Excel 2007 and 2010: http://chandoo.org/wp/2009/11/20/excel-2010-ui-features/

Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet – formula bar

Mathematical Computations

• Basic mathematical computations can be done on the spreadsheet

• Multiply = *• Divide = /• Add = +• Subtract = -• For each of these you use a formula: @sum(A1+B1*C1) OR

you can just click on the AutoSum button (∑)

Give It a Try!

• Try opening a spreadsheet right now, entering some text or figures to see what the columns, rows, and formula bar look like! Try adding a column of figures.

• Signal when you are done and if it made sense to you.

Try it! Parts of an Electronic Spreadsheet

• Workbook refers to a collection of worksheets

Creating an Electronic Spreadsheet

• The checklist provided in your book is a good way to approach organizing or setting up the spreadsheet.

• Ask yourself what you want to do, what you input, what you want to get out of the spreadsheet, what formulas you will use to get there, and how many columns and rows will be needed.

• The labels you use can be in any rows; whenever you place your arrow in a cell and begin typing, that information will appear in the formula bar.

Spreadsheet Security

• Password controlling the spreadsheets is an important way to protect the information contained in them.

• Tutorials are available to educate you on all of the security features that you can use.

• Just like in Word, you can click on the Office button, then Prepare and see all of the different things you can enable.

• Give it a try!

Questions?

Test Prep

Quiz Prep

• What are the basic office functions divided into?• What are the terms associated with a worksheet? (row,

column, cell, formula bar, worksheet, workbook)• Relationship between two items – added, subtracted,

divided or multiplied – to create a third • What is the formula bar in quattro pro called?• Password protect – why?

Quiz Prep

• What are graphs used for in Excel?• How can you find out more about using Excel?• What are templates used for in Excel?• What is a “what if” table?• What is “high importance” in email?• What are encryption and the type ahead feature in

Excel?