When it comes to practicing law, time is often severely limited, and many lawyers have trouble meeting their obligations in a timely manner. Fortunately, smart phones have made the process far more convenient. Smart phones can carry a tremendous amount of information, and cloud services give lawyers access to all of their important documents. Further, lawyers who have smart phones take them everywhere, so they will rarely be without access to their devices. With some special apps, lawyers can be even more productive. Here are three legals apps all lawyers should use:
1) Goodreader
When it comes to legal documents, PDF is the most popular format. Reading PDF files on a smart phone, however, can be a bit of a challenge. Because PDF files are designed with a fixed width, apps cannot control how many words appear on each line. As a result, it can be hard to read text in PDF format. Fortunately, users can install their own PDF apps, and there are a number of great options to choose from. Goodreader is developed for iPhones and iPads, and it allows users to easily zoom in and out. Further, Goodreader is capable of creating categories, so lawyers can make a different category for each case.
2) Fastcase
One of the primary job responsibilities of lawyers is reading case law. As all lawyers know, understanding law is not as simple as being able to read relevant statues. Laws are often ambiguous, and lawyers have to read how they were interpreted in the past to learn what the law really means. To complicate matters further, precedent sometimes goes back centuries, and law in the United States is based on precedents decided in England before the United States was even a nation. To help lawyers deal with the mountains of information they are confronted with, the Fastcase app supplies case law search tools. With information pertaining to national law and case law in all 50 states, lawyers can use this app to do research while traveling or away from the computer.
3) Evernote
Perhaps the most important role of lawyers is organizing information. When helping clients, it is important to gather disparate information together in a cohesive manner. When preparing for a case, lawyers must compile information to support their arguments while preparing for rebuttals from the other legal team. Information often comes in different forms, so lawyers must deal with documents, images and testimonials. Evernote is designed to make it easy to combine information into one place. Lawyers can use it to prepare questions and answers regardless of where a meeting or trial takes them. With sharing features, lawyers working with others can share their findings instantly.
While television dramas focus on the clever aspects of legal work, the most challenging aspects are often simply compiling information. Further, many lawyers spend a majority of their time researching cases and trying to find relevant precedent. By using smart phones to organize their activities, lawyers can ensure that they are prepared for anything that arises.
This articles is by Rowena Kang, the writer and the Director of Content for the Morgan Law Firm, an Austin, Texas divorce firm. Please visit the Morgan Law Firm Blog for additional content.
