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I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! With Independence Day weekend in the proverbial rear-view, it’s time to tell you about some of the great new apps released last month. We have some new stuff here at the Cyber Advocate, too! For everyone who has checked out our new podcast, the Legal Technology Review, we appreciate it. For those who haven’t, here’s your perfect opportunity:
Beginning with this post, our Best New Apps series will become part of the podcast. Not to worry, you’ll still be able to get the monthly list right here. The podcast will offer more detailed information on how you can use each app to improve your practice. Additionally, the podcast will include additional apps – an honorable mention, of sorts – that didn’t make the final cut for the post.
So without further ado, here are my best new apps for lawyers released in June 2015:
Multi-Platform:
Multi-platform apps begin at the 1:34 mark of the podcast.
Microsoft Outlook by Microsoft Corp., (iOS, Android), free. (Update)
Microsoft’s Outlook app underwent a significant update last month, adding functionality that is both incredible and critical for anyone concerned with the security of mobile devices. Bring Your Own Device, or “BYOD,” is a major concern for IT staff, and attorneys and law firms should be incredibly concerned about the potential for confidential data to be compromised due to a lost or hacked phone or tablet.
The recent update should help your firm and IT manager enforce compliance with your BYOD Policies, particularly with mobile device management. Now, you can prevent users from accessing Outlook email without signing up for the mobile device management system. Moreover, IT Managers can adjust the security settings to match the needs of your firm, including preventing content of emails from being copied to other applications, or remote wiping of business data (but not personal data) via the Android Device Manager.
Overall, if you or your employees use Outlook for email, this is an incredibly important update to ensure your clients’ confidential data is protected.
LinkedIn Pulse by LinkedIn Corp. (iOS, Android), free.
Pulse is the daily digest of the news, created and curated by LinkedIn, your professional social network. Get regular updates on important news from your industry, stories your connections are reading, and even find out when your connections make the news! Constantly updated, you’ll never be left out.
While many news aggregation sites have a complex algorithm to determine what news is important for you, LinkedIn Pulse is curated by actual human editors (I know, strange right?). With tons of options for customization, you can follow the news read by influencers in your field, save important articles for reading later, and teach Pulse about the articles you find most interesting with every swipe of your finger.
IFTTT Do by IFTTT (iOS, Android), free.
(Update)
The amazingly useful automation app IFTTT announced a major update to its series of “Do” apps – Do Button, Do Note and Do Camera – this month. Most significantly, they removed the three-recipe limit for each of the apps, allowing you to create and utilize an unlimited number of automations.
New tools and options are also now available, including the addition of text and filters to your photos, and a host of new Android-focused options, such as triggering automation when certain notifications appear or when the battery level drops to a certain level. Another Android-only addition is a “floating button” which allows users to access specific recommendations directly from the home screen.
The update also includes new functionality for Apple Watch, the ability to launch turn-by-turn navigation, and multi-factor authentication.
Honorable Mention:
BBC Newsbeat by Media Applications Technology Ltd. (iOS, Android), free.
For more info, check out the podcast.
iOS:
iOS apps begin at the 10:12 mark of the podcast.
Court Caddy – Federal Rules & Opinions by W&R Holdings, LLC, $4.99.
Designed for the practicing attorney, Court Caddy provides a convenient way to access various federal court rules and opinions from your smartphone. Updated with the latest federal rules of civil procedure, evidence, criminal procedure and appellate procedure, the app provides easy, intuitive design to answer your procedural questions quickly.
Additionally, the app provides updates on new opinions from the United States Supreme Court and all Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, along with various other news from and about the U.S. judiciary. Easy to use and easy to read from your smartphone, this is an essential companion to any lawyer practicing in federal court.
Highrise – Small Business CRM by Highrise HQ, LLC
, free.
Lawyers and law firms are slowly starting to catch on to the value offered by CRM (Customer/Client Relationship Management) systems. Being able to combine your law firm’s contacts into one, company-wide list, and allow for notes, to-do information, and other important data on each client to be included, is a HUGE time saver. It also helps cut down on errors due to duplicate entries or address changes.
Highrise is bringing that functionality to your phone, in a system affordable even for small law firms and solo practitioners. Better yet, you can integrate with your other electronic marketing resources like Mail Chimp and Zapier, allowing you to get more out of your client information, in less time!
Azure Authenticator by Microsoft Corp., free.
As you might have noticed, I am pretty concerned about digital security. I’m especially concerned about the inability of passwords to truly protect our important data – primarily because making passwords truly effective requires complexity and frequent changes that most people just don’t want to use. The best solution available? Multi-factor authentication.
Microsoft’s Azure Authenticator can help you out, particularly for systems or logins that don’t otherwise provide free multi-factor authentication. Connect your account to your authenticator. When you try to log in, you will receive a notification on your phone with an access code. Only upon entering the access code will you be allowed in.
Honorable Mention:
Ello by Ello, free.
Sway by Microsoft Corp., free.
The Simplified Planner by Ross Tanner, $4.99.
For more info, check out the podcast.
Android:
Android apps begin at the 17:55 mark of the podcast.
Facebook Ads Manager by Facebook, Inc., free.
If you use Facebook for any of your law firm’s social media marketing, then you’re probably familiar with how hard it has become to get an audience for your posts without paying for it. With the rise in the importance of paid advertising on Facebook, the importance of having quality ads has increased as well.
While we might be upset at Facebook for limiting the organic reach of our posts, there are several arguments to be made that the switch was necessary. Moreover, they’ve created a robust, high quality advertising system for us to use. Finally, that functionality can be accessed and managed on your Android device!
Portal by Pushbullet, free.
In addition to the massive redesign of the primary site, Pushbullet launched a new app for Android last month – Portal. Now, using a WiFi connection, you can send large files from your Android device to a local computer or tablet, regardless of file size, and without using any of your limited monthly data.
Everyone’s been in the situation where you’re at a deposition or a client meeting, and you have a large file that you need to share. Dropbox can be a good option, if your device is set up for it. If not, you’re going to need an option that won’t kill your battery, require relying on spotty LTE coverage, or blow up your bill. Portal wants to be that tool (although for lawyers, it’ll work a lot better when there’s an iOS version, too).
Adobe Creative Cloud by Adobe, free.
Adobe finally brings the Creative Cloud apps to Android. Essentially a series of standalone apps, Adobe’s CC apps allow you to create and collaborate on pictures and images like never before. Using the various Creative Cloud apps, including Photoshop Mix, Color CC, Brush CC, and Shape CC, you can combine images, tweak colors, convert into graphics for use in illustrator, or create artistic additions to your images.
While it might not seem like something that would be too useful for attorneys, one of the most important things you can do today to ensure your business tomorrow is to remain relevant from a marketing perspective. Today, remaining relevant includes creating a consistent visual identity as a part of a cohesive brand, and creating visual content for your website and social media. Using Adobe CC’s apps, you can do so professionally, and for free!
Honorable Mention:
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint by Microsoft, Inc., free.
Medium by A Medium Corporation, free.
ToDoist by Doist, Inc., free.
addappt by addappt, Inc., free.
For more info, check out the podcast.
Windows Phone:
Windows Phone apps begin at the 26:48 mark of the podcast.
Opera Mini by Opera Software, free.
Long available on iOS and Android, the Opera Mini web browser is now available to Windows Phone users. Focused on design and ease of use, Opera provides a secure, fast web browser for your Windows Phone. The app has been specially redesigned for use on Windows Phones, and allows for faster loading of websites and intuitive navigation.
Speed can be good, but not if it eats up your available data on the network! So along with a fast browser, Opera actually compresses the websites you use, without sacrificing image quality, to reduce the impact that your web browsing has on your monthly bill. It also happens to be one of the most secure web browsers available.
QuizUp by Plain Vanilla Corp., free.
Yes, this is a quiz game. No, I have not lost my mind.
QuizUp is one of the best games available for mobile devices, having long been among my favorite apps for iOS and Android. Test your knowledge against people around the world, keep score, show off victories to your friends, and in general live a happier and more trivia-filled life!
Even lawyers need a break.
For more info, check out the podcast.