Turn Microsoft Teams Meetings into Actionable Summaries with Copilot

Streamline recaps, timestamps, and task delegation using Teams, Stream, and Planner.

Copilot Tip #4 – Turn Conversations into Actionable Insights

Legal professionals live in meetings. Case strategy calls, client updates, partner check-ins, and trial prep sessions can easily fill your calendar. But let’s be honest—how often does the most important point from a two-hour meeting get buried in the transcript or lost in a colleague’s notes?

That’s where Microsoft Copilot, Teams, and Stream step in.

What Copilot Can Do

With your Teams recording accessible in Stream, Copilot can:

• Summarize meeting discussions into key bullet points

• Highlight decisions, deadlines, and next steps

• Generate an action item list with owners and due dates

• Provide timestamp links so you can jump directly to critical parts of the conversation

No more digging through recordings or relying on memory—Copilot transforms your firm’s conversations into structured, searchable outcomes.

Try This Prompt

Inside Stream, click the Copilot icon located on the right-hand menu and ask:

“Summarize this meeting with bullet points for key discussion topics, decisions made, and action items. Include timestamps for each action item. Format the action items in a table with columns for Timestamp, Assigned To, Task, and Deadline.”

Quick Tip: Stream must first transcribe your meeting before Copilot will generate a response to your prompt. Transcription is done automatically in Stream. You can check the status of the transcript by clicking the transcript icon located in the right-hand menu in Stream.

Pro Tip: Capture + Store for Easy Reference

Use Outlook’s “Send to OneNote” feature in your Calendar invite to send the meeting details (attendees, agenda, dial-in info) to the OneNote – ensuring you select the desired OneNote Notebook (for the firm, for the case, or for the client).

After the meeting:

• Copy and paste the Copilot-generated recap with timestamps in the same Notebook.

• You’ll have a single source of truth for meeting details + recap notes.

👉 If your team hasn’t fully tapped into the power of OneNote yet, check out my online course OneNote Unleashed. It’s designed specifically for legal professionals and shows you how to maximize OneNote as the central hub for your firm’s knowledge and collaboration. Click the image below.

Things to Consider When Recording Internal Meetings

Recording internal meetings can be helpful for creating accurate recaps, but firms should always evaluate their approach against jurisdictional laws, ABA guidance, and internal policies. The following are suggestions—not legal advice—and may need to be adapted to fit your firm’s circumstances.

Approval First, Then Follow Your Retention Policy

Once Copilot generates the meeting recap and it’s reviewed/approved, many firms choose to delete the original recording as part of their regular retention policy. This helps manage storage and ensures the firm is relying on an approved, written summary rather than raw recordings.

Any deletion process should be documented in a firm-wide policy, applied consistently, and suspended if a litigation hold is in place. Always check jurisdictional rules and ethical obligations before implementing.

Establish an SOP for Meeting Notes

Create a process that works for your firm, such as:

• Meeting held and recorded (with consent).

• Copilot generates recap with timestamps + action items.

• Designated reviewer (attorney, project lead, or paralegal) approves/edits the recap.

• Finalized recap is stored in the appropriate OneNote Notebook or SharePoint site.

• Recording handled according to the firm’s documented retention policy.

Use Permissions Wisely

Limit access to recaps (and any temporary recordings) to team members who need them for their role. This helps preserve privilege and confidentiality.

Important Note: These are workflow considerations, not universal best practices. Always evaluate recording policies in light of your jurisdiction’s requirements, ethical obligations, and your firm’s internal governance.

Ethical Reminder

AI-generated recaps are a great starting point, but they don’t replace human judgment. Always:

• Confirm accuracy of decisions and deadlines

• Clarify ambiguous assignments before delegating

• Add professional context where nuance matters

Final Thoughts

Recording meetings and generating recaps with Copilot can transform how your firm captures, shares, and acts on important information—but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. By pairing Teams, Stream, OneNote, and Planner with thoughtful internal policies, your firm can turn conversations into actionable outcomes while maintaining compliance and protecting privilege. Like all technology in the legal space, the value lies not just in the tool, but in how you apply it with strategy, supervision, and sound judgment.

Stay tuned for Copilot Tip #5: Post-Case Reviews + Autopsies with Planner and Excel—a powerful way to learn from past cases and improve future outcomes.

I’d love to hear your thoughts—would your firm use Copilot to generate meeting recaps, or do you prefer traditional notetaking? Drop a comment below and share this post with colleagues who could benefit from smarter, streamlined meetings.

Misty Murray

Author | Owner | CEO | Paralegal Boss

Arrow Consultants, LLC

#LegalTech #Copilot #Microsoft365 #ParalegalBoss #LawFirmInnovation

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At Arrow Consultants, we help legal professionals all over the world create better systems and build sustainable law firms using the full power of Microsoft 365. From case management to training, our mission is to make legal operations smarter, leaner, and built to last.