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I recently became involved in a really interesting new project: The Xemplar. It’s a new website devoted to innovative solo and small firm attorneys that lead the way and make a postive impact on our profession and their communities.

Each month, a new “Xemplar” is nominated and their story is featured, along with related articles and discussions written by me, my Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier co-author, Carolyn Elefant, and others.

I’m honored to serve on the advisory board of the Xemplar along with (in alphabetical order) Bob Ambrogi, Rodney Dowell, Carolyn Elefant, and Gina Madsen.

This month’s Xemplar is Stephanie Kimbro, a pioneer in the field of virtual law office technologies.

Read all about Stephanie in the feature article: Steph Kimbro: Standing Tall Among Giants. This month’s related articles include The Case for Lawyering on the Front and Where’s the Next Law Office? Virtually Anywhere.

We just nominated next month’s Xemplar—a criminal defense attorney in the trenches, fighting for justice—so stay tuned.

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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.