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Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing about 2 new iPad apps designed specifically for attorneys: JuryTracker and TrialPad. I’ve downloaded both apps and am in the process of testing them out. Once I’ve had a chance to do so, I’ll give you my feedback.
In the meantime you can visit their websites and get a sense of what each app has to offer.
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There are two more iPad presentation apps available, in addition to TrialPad, that I wanted to bring to your attention.
First there’s the RLTC Evidence app (website, iTunes link) which costs $9.99. Then there’s Exhibit A (iTunes link), which costs $4.99.
While I haven’t yet had a chance to try out all 3, Ted Brooks—a legal technology trial consultant whose role could arguably be limited by apps like these down the road—provides very extensive reviews of all 3 products here and here.
Given that all 3 of these products are new to the market, there is certainly room for improvement and there are bound to be glitches. That being said, for solo and small firm practitioners, these apps and those that will follow are ideal.
During the first 8 years of my legal career, I spent a lot of time in the courtroom and would have loved to have had tools like this available as I tried cases. This type of technology would have been ideal for criminal trials and for personal injury trials.
Back then, this type of technology wasn’t even feasible. And, even today, for most solos and small firms, hiring a costly trial technology consultant is likewise not feasible in most cases. Most cases tried by most lawyers aren’t multi-million dollar cases—they’re criminal trials, personal injury matters and small business contract disputes. BigLaw can afford expensive trial consultants; most solos and small firms cannot.
These apps fill that void, leveling the playing field and making solos and small firms more competitive. As these apps improve and new features are added, they will undoubtedly become valuable tools in the arsenal of solo and small firm litigators.
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This week’s Daily Record column is entitled “iPad Apps for Lawyers.”
A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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iPad Apps for Lawyers
A friend of mine from my Public Defender days who still works at the PD’s office recently emailed me and asked to write an article about iPad apps for lawyers. I was happy to oblige—especially since I regularly write about topics like this at my blog, the Legal iPad (www.legal-ipad.com).
First off, before you purchase any apps, spend some time with your iPad, think about your workflow and decide whether you plan to create content, consume content or both. This decision will necessarily affect which apps you choose to purchase. As I’ve oft repeated, creating content with the iPad is easier said than done and for many, it will be used primarily for content-consumption. Since iPad apps tend to cost quite a bit more than iPhone apps, you may as well avoid wasting your hard earned money and invest in apps that you will actually use.
If you plan to create content, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, you should consider purchasing either QuickOfficeConnect Mobile Suite ($14.99), which allows you to create and edit Microsoft compatible files or Apple’s productivity suite of apps, Pages (word processing), Numbers (Spreadsheet creation) and Keynote (presentation software), each of which costs $9.99.
A file management app is another important tool to have on your iPad if you plan to work with a large number of files. Absent a file management app, your files will be segregated inside of different apps. File management apps store all of your files in one place and some also allow PDF annotation. There are a number of apps of this type, but two of the most popular are GoodReader ($2.99) and Readdle Docs ($4.99), both of which, in addition to file management, also provide decent PDF annotation capabilities.
If your file management app of choice doesn’t permit PDF annotation, or if you would prefer a feature-rich PDF annotation app, there are a number of great apps to choose from that make it easy for you to mark up PDFs. Using these apps, you can input text, add written notes, highlight text and more. Some of my favorites include SignMyPad, iAnnotate PDF ($9.99), Readdle PDF Expert ($9.99), or Noterize ($3.99).
Many of the apps mentioned above sync with a number of cloud-based storage options, making it easy for you to access and import into the app documents stored in the cloud. For that reason, and for the sake of convenience, you may want to consider using a cloud-based storage app such as DropBox (free), the online storage option that is most likely to be compatible with most apps. Another option is Box.net, also free. These apps allow you to upload and stores your files in the cloud, so that you can access them anywhere, anytime, and from any type of Internet-enabled device.
Another way to access files using your iPad is to remotely access your desktop computer. There are a number of apps that facilitate this process, including LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99), Splashtop Remote Desktop ($4.99), Wyse PocketCloud Pro ($14.99), or Remote Desktop ($5.99).
There are also a number of legal-specific apps available that you may want to purchase. If you are a litigator, there are 3 different trial presentation apps: the RLTC Evidence ($9.99), Exhibit A ($4.99) and TrialPad ($89.99). An app that assists with jury selection is also available, Jury Tracker ($9.99).
Other legal apps include Lawstack, which includes, among others, the US Constitution, the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and certain state codes, including New York (free). LawBox (free) is another app that is very similar to Lawstack.
Finally, Fastcase (free) is a legal research app that includes cases and statutes from all 50 states and the federal government.
For more information on using your iPad in your law practice, check out the following blogs, in addition to my own: Tablet Legal (www.tabletlegal.com), iPadLawyer (www.ipadlawyer.co.uk), iPad Notebook (www.ipadnotebook.wordpress.com).
Nicole Black is of counsel to Fiandach & Fiandach in Rochester. She co-authors the ABA book Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a West-Thomson treatise, and is currently writing a book about cloud computing for lawyers that will be published by the ABA in early 2011. She is the founder of lawtechTalk.com and speaks regularly at conferences regarding the intersection of law and technology. She publishes four legal blogs and can be reached at nblack@nicoleblackesq.com.
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I just created a running list of iPad apps developed specifically for lawyers. I’ll update it as new apps come to my attention.
You can find that page here.
Aside from a few big aggregators, I didn’t include apps for federal and state codes, laws, regulations, etc. simply because there are far too many of them.
The prices of the apps are accurate on the date that the date that the app was included on the list, but may have changed since then, so be sure to check the iTunes store for the most up-to-date pricing.
If you know of an app that’s missing, feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to consider adding the app.
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Here’s a round up of my recent iPad tweets:
- Prepare for Depositions With the iPad Deponent App - http://tinyurl.com/3srnuwr
- Lawyers and Their iPads http://feedly.com/k/gDcbhu
- Lawyerist: The iPad as an Indispensable Lawyering Tool http://6sen.se/i6lRjJ
- What is the “iPad for Lawyers” Crowd Smoking? http://feedly.com/k/fkTTYk
- iPad Apps for Lawyers http://bit.ly/hqCdEa
This week’s Daily Record column is entitled “More iPad Apps for Lawyers.”
A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.
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More iPad Apps for Lawyers
IPad sales have exploded since this revolutionary device was released less than 2 years ago in April 2010. In the last quarter of 2011 alone, it is estimated that more than 13.5 million iPads were sold — a 166 percent increase from the same quarter one year ago — and a total of nearly 25 million iPads were sold in 2011.
This is one technology trend that lawyers are embracing, with tablets regularly making an appearance in law offices and courthouses across the country, and iPads are clearly leading the way. In fact, according to the ABA’s 2011 legal technology survey, the iPad is used by 89 percent of those lawyers who use a tablet device for work-related tasks and 15 percent of respondents used a tablet to conduct work while outside of their primary workplace. For firms with more than 500 attorneys, that number increased to 26 percent.
With more and more lawyers buying iPads, the legal field’s collective interest in iPad apps has increased dramatically and developers have been responding to this increased demand by creating apps tailored specifically for lawyers, with new ones coming out all the time.
Unfortunately, the iTunes app store does not yet have a specific category for legal apps, so it can sometimes be a challenge to locate apps created just for lawyers. To save you some time, in today’s article, I’ll describe a number of the more popular legal apps available
First, there are the apps that I wrote about in April 2011, including: 1) 3 trial presentation apps: the RLTC Evidence ($4.99), Exhibit A ($9.99) and TrialPad ($89.99); 2) an app that assists with jury selection, Jury Tracker ($4.99); and 3) 2 other useful legal apps including Lawstack (free), which includes, among others, the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence and certain state codes, including New York; and Fastcase (free), a legal research app that includes cases and statutes from all 50 states and the federal government.
Since April, there have been a slew of new legal apps released, all of which are available in the iTunes app store.
First, New York lawyers can stay on top of their ethical obligations using the New York State Bar Association’s newly released “Mobile Ethics App for New York Lawyers” (free). CaseManager for iPad ($14.99), is another new app that operates as a mobile case manager for all of your law firm’s matters.
ExhibitView ($29.99) is another new addition to the legal app family, and operates as a presentation aid for use during trials or depositions.
Another app intended to make trial preparation simpler is the Transcript Pad app ($49.99), from the makers or TrialPad. This app allows you to import multiple deposition transcripts onto your iPad so that you can review and mark up transcripts right on your iPad. Then there’s iJuror ($9.99), a jury selection app that aids lawyers in managing the voir dire process.Rulebook (free), is another app to consider. This app allows you to the download federal and state court rules specific to your jurisdiction and then makes them readily available and searchable on your iPad.
Finally, there’s the Wolfram Alpha Lawyer’s Professional Assistant app ($4.99). This app is a reference tool that pulls information useful to lawyers from Wolfram Alpha’s massive database. Using this app you can access a vast amount of data including definitions of legal terms, state-specific statute of limitation information, and investigative information, such as weather and company information. You can even perform calendar and financial calculations or utilize the blood alcohol calculator.
As you can can see, legal-specific iPad apps abound and more are sure to follow. These apps make iPads all the more useful in the 21st Century law office, allowing you the flexibility to access information relevant to your practice no matter where you are.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and GigaOM Pro Analyst. She is the author of the ABA book Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors the ABA book Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a West-Thomson treatise. She is the founder of lawtechTalk.com and speaks regularly at conferences regarding the intersection of law and technology. She publishes four legal blogs and can be reached at nblack@nicoleblackesq.com.
