ILSPA has recently explored a wide array of free resources, and we are excited to share our findings with you. Whether you are currently studying to become a Legal Secretary or are already working in the field, these resources will help you streamline your tasks, enhance productivity, and manage your work more efficiently. 

Microsoft Office Alternatives

• LibreOffice: A powerful open-source alternative to Microsoft Office, offering word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools.
• WPS Office: Another free office suite with compatibility for Microsoft Office files.

PDF Editors

• PDFescape: A free online PDF editor that allows you to edit, fill out, and annotate PDF documents.
• Smallpdf: A tool that lets you compress, convert, and merge PDFs easily.

Task Management

• Trello: A task management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you organise your work.
• Todoist: A simple but effective task management app that helps track tasks and deadlines.

Communication and Collaboration

• Slack: A messaging app for team collaboration, especially useful for legal teams.
• Zoom: A widely used video conferencing tool for virtual meetings.

Document and File Storage

• Dropbox Basic: Provides free cloud storage to store and share documents securely.
• Google Drive: Offers 15GB of free storage, with integrated document editing and sharing.

Note-taking

• Evernote: A popular tool for taking notes, organising tasks, and clipping information from the web.
• Simplenote: A digital note-taking app which can be synced on all your devices.

Grammar and Writing 

• Grammarly: A tool to help with grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Hemingway Editor: An app that helps improve the readability of your writing by highlighting complex sentences and common errors.