The iPad Lawyer

As I anxiously await Saturday’s debut of Apple’s iPad, I’m starting to dream up all the possible ways lawyers will be able to use the iPad in their everyday law practices. Now that Apple’s embargo on discussing the iPad has been lifted, prompting the release of numerous video reviews including the hour-long demonstration by Andy Ihnatko on Twit.tv, it is clear -- at least to me -- that we will be seeing a lot of iPads in the hands of lawyers and in the courtroom. 

I plan to dive right in and start using the iPad for just about everything while I’m away from the office. Aside from the obvious uses, such as a word processor and e-mail client, the iPad promises to be an excellent notetaker and research tool. Several developers have already released robust notetaking applications for the iPad, such as Notability. The Fastcase application (assuming it will be updated for the iPad) and the Google Scholar website should be much more usable on the iPad than they are on the iPhone, and it will be interesting to see whether the rumored soon-to-be-released Westlaw application will be as amazing as their (still in beta) Westlaw Next service.

I also routinely use the Dragon Dictation application to dictate e-mails and notes on my iPhone and I hope to use the same application on the iPad to dictate notes, letters, etc., into iWork. Apple’s comment that iWork on the iPad will be able to sync with Google Docs -- which I commonly use for drafting and collaborating on documents -- will cater to my particular workflow. In addition, I’m toiling with idea of using either Apple’s Keynote application or an e-book reader, such as Stanza, in place of the written outlines I typically use for courtroom oral argument. How nice would it be to flip from page to page in your outline with the tap of a finger?

I have a lot more ideas that I would like to explore once I have an iPad in hand, but in the meantime, I would love to hear feedback from other lawyers on how, if at all, they envision incorporating the iPad into their law practices. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please feel free to post your comments.

Comments

[Seattle dui attorney]

I am glad you have shared some facts about new technology that may be used by lawyers today. Keep exploring your ipad.