It’s been a few weeks since my most recent post. A combination of work, life, and snow/ice has gotten in the way of writing, for which I apologize. But enough about me! February is over, and as a resident of the southeast, I say Thank God! However, February was an excellent month for new apps that the tech-savvy attorney can benefit greatly from.
Without any further ado, here are the Best New Apps for Lawyers from February 2014:
iOS:
DkT by Matthew Zorn, free.
Do you need access to federal court litigation documents? If so, then you undoubtedly use the PACER system to file, search for, or review documents in federal cases. DkT is an app designed to significantly improve your access to PACER documents on iOS devices. DkT directly interfaces with the PACER and ECF systems for all district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts across the country.
DkT improves your mobile access to the PACER and ECF system by creating an interface and overlay with a custom mobile interface. Additionally, you will now have easy mobile access to bookmarking, batch downloading, quick emailing, and saving, printing and bundling PACER documents.
Paper by Facebook, Inc., free.
Ok, I admit it, this app isn’t on this list for any particular use in the practice of law. Instead, it’s an app that anyone who utilizes Facebook, for personal use, professional use, or any combination thereof, should check out.
When you log onto Facebook, where do you get most of your information? From your crowded News Feed. Well, Paper takes your News Feed and turns it into a sleek, streamlined, aesthetically impressive news aggregator. Swipe through your stories, photos, and videos with ease, and enlarge stories that pique your interest. Hopefully future updates will include support for Events and improved access to post updates!
OfficeSuite Free by Mobile Systems, free.
No matter how tech-savvy you are, it’s a near-guarantee that you use some form of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel and/or PowerPoint in your practice. One of the biggest actual barriers between tablets being fully useful in the practice of law is that the apps able to fully create or edit .docx and .xlsx files has been limited, at best.
No more. OfficeSuite Pro, the #1 software package for creating and editing Office files has finally released its iOS app. Complete with a file browser, document editor (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, & .log), spreadsheet editor (.xls, .xlsx, & .csv), presentation viewer (.ppt, .pptx, .pps, & .ppsx), and PDF viewer, OfficeSuite Free provides everything you need!
Professional Dictation by Pasha Suleyman, $0.99.
Very few devices are as ubiquitous to the legal profession as a lawyer’s dictaphone. For decades, lawyers have relied on various types of recording devices to dictate drafts of important letters or documents (or the less important memo to the partner who won’t read it, but I’m not judging!). While voice recognition has made inroads in many industries, the combination of complex legal terms and technology-resistant attorneys has significantly limited voice recognition tools in law.
Professional Dictation has the tools to help lawyers knock down those barriers. Using high-quality voice recognition software, you can watch your dictation turn immediately into text on your computer. More useful, Professional Dictation allows you to dictate emails, text messages, Facebook posts, Tweets, and new DropBox documents.
Android:
EverythingMe Launcher by EverythingMe, free.
It’s always nice to have something in your life that anticipates what you need when you need it. For Android users, EverythingMe is that something. A replacement for your device’s homescreen, EverythingMe anticipates the apps, people and information you’d want based on the time of day. Set your phone to give you the weather and news first thing, and pull up the best local restaurants when you’re in a certain part of town.
You organize your apps into Smart Folders based on interests, and EverythingMe anticipates your needs based on The Prediction Bar. Even better, EverythingMe has the fastest in-phone search available on Android – just as an added perk.
Cogi – Notes & Voice Recorder by Cogi, Inc., free.
What’s the biggest problem with utilizing audio recordings of your meetings and depositions rather than taking notes? Well, there are a few, I suppose. You have to transcribe the recording. Then you have to READ the whole thing to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Also, good luck remembering important ideas or thoughts, or capturing the “AHA!” moments.
Cogi has a solution. Wouldn’t it be great if you could take notes AND have an audio recording? What about making sure that important parts of the recording are flagged for later? Cogi has you covered. Augment your audio recordings with notes, photos, and even video, all while never missing out on important information because you were busy madly scribbling down notes.
Basecamp for Android by Basecamp, free (requires subscription to Basecamp project management app).
As more and more law firms adopt Legal Project Management systems and software, the ability for attorneys to access their project management information on the go is increasingly important. If your firm uses Basecamp, the world’s #1 web-based project management app, you’re all set.
Basecamp for Android displays the latest news on every one of your projects. With direct access to your projects, optimized for your Android device, you’re able to jump in on discussions, post your thoughts, view progress on existing tasks, and upload files. Basecamp also gives you complete access to your project’s files, including all of the stored documents, giving you access to all relevant information no matter where you are.
SuperBeam – WiFi Direct Share by MukaBits, free ($1.99 upgrade to Pro version).
So you’re sitting in a deposition, and you notice that one of your co-counsel is reviewing the transcript and photo exhibits of a previous deposition on his tablet. Another co-counsel is reviewing the video taken during a guided walkthrough of a medical procedure critical to the case. You look down at your tablet, empty, and you start to ask your co-counsel to forward the information they have. Until you remember that your firm’s server rejects any email bigger than 50 MB. So you proceed without access to the important information sitting right next to you.
SuperBeam solves that problem. Pair with any Android device either by QR code, NFC, or manual sharing key, and engage the easiest and fastest way to share large files. Using WiFi direct, you can share single or multiple files of any type (photos, videos, zip files, etc.). You’re even able to share with devices through a web interface, so it’s not necessary for the other device to also have SuperBeam installed. For a fast, secure way to transfer files between Android devices, this is the app you need.
Pingback: Spring cleaning your solo law practice - LawBank : LawBank()