Industry studies show that manually re-keying a single PDF document into Microsoft Word can cost as much as $250 in labor alone. That cost rises in proportion to the size of the document, the complexity presented by tables, columns and graphics, and the compensation of the individual completing the work. Existing investments in connected desktop PC systems, coupled with the pervasiveness of Microsoft Office, should make it easy for legal organizations to work with electronic files. However, in spite of advances in technology, the costs associated with creating, sharing and storing legal documents continue to rise.

The single greatest challenge to streamlining document-based processes is the fact that there are two incompatible dominant electronic document formats in use - Microsoft® Office and the open PDF standard. Microsoft Office provides millions of legal professionals a rich environment for document creation and collaborative authoring. Unfortunately the editable Microsoft Word file format is not well suited for sharing and storage of electronic documents. PDF is now the electronic file standard courts have embraced for the distribution, viewing and archiving of their documents. The net result is that Microsoft Word is the standard for authoring and editing legal documents, while PDF is fast becoming the preferred way of distributing and sharing legal documents. The pervasiveness of Microsoft Word (400 million) and Adobe® Acrobat® Reader (500 million) gives rise to the need for document management solutions that enable the seamless movement of information between these two dominant formats.

ScanSoft PDF Converter Professional eliminates the productivity issues caused by the traditional incompatibilities between Microsoft Word and PDF. It combines the power to create PDF files from any PC application with the amazing ability to turn PDF files into fully-formatted - and editable - Microsoft Word documents or forms in a single, affordable and easy-to-use application. Now it is simple to create industry-standard PDF files that can be easily e-mailed, universally viewed and printed just as if they came from the source application. PDF files can be instantly converted into Microsoft Word documents and forms that are easily edited and look just like the original, complete with all the formatting and graphics. PDF Converter Professional saves legal organizations time and money by making it easy and cost-effective to work with PDF files.