11 Essential Apps for Lawyers Plus a Review of AT&T’s 3G Microcell

Christel Burris started her legal career as a receptionist for a small law firm in San Francisco, and has held held numerous other positions in law firms over the years, including IT manager.  For the last 25 years, she has been a legal technology consultant.  She lives in Asheville, NC and her company, Push One
Button, Inc., provides training, legal-specific
technology, content development and consulting to businesses from California to
the UK.

Earlier this week, the always interesting TechnoFeature newsletter from TechnoLawyer published a great article she wrote on iPhone apps for lawyers.  For any of you who missed it, Burris gave me permission to republish it here.

An Apple Skeptic Turned iPhone Fanatic:  11 Essential Apps for Lawyers Plus a Review of AT&T’s 3G Microcell

by Christel Burris

INTRODUCTION

Some of you may remember a TechnoFeature article I
wrote last year, Mythbusters:
Should Your Law Firm Switch From Windows to Mac? It created
a firestorm on the Mac legal Web.

You might surmise from that article
that I dislike all Apple products. You’d be wrong. I have fallen in love with
one Apple product — the iPhone. Not surprisingly, the
iPhone now comprises more of Apple’s revenue than any of its other products,
including Macs.

I admit I’m a bit behind on the iPhone craze as I am very
much an “anti-trend” kinda gal. But I finally caved in and switched to AT&T
so I could have an iPhone … and there’s no going back for me. The iPhone — from
its display to the way it feels in your hand to the capacitive touch screen — is
simply gorgeous.

While its business applications are definitely not what
drives the iPhone (get a BlackBerry if that’s all you need), it will give you
both time-wasting and business functionality. During my research for this
article, I asked three of my iPhone-using attorney clients which legal business
apps they use and all three sheepishly replied, “None.”

APPS, APPS,
AND MORE APPS FOR LAWYERS: MY TOP 11 PICKS

What I really love about
the iPhone is “there’s an app for that.” No kidding. Any function you can think
of, search for it on the App store and you’ll probably find it. What are my
favorite apps for lawyers?

1. LogMeIn
Ignition ($29.99).  If you have an account
(fee-based or free) with LogMeIn, you can access your desktop using LogMeIn
Ignition. Granted, the display is quite small but I’ve been able to log onto a
client’s desktop using LogMeIn Ignition and perform a quick task like attach a
document to an email message or troubleshoot an error.

2. Ilium
eWallet ($9.99).  I live and breathe by this app. Store all your
passwords, credit card information, etc., and sync it to your Windows
desktop.

3. Facebook (free).  If you’re a
Facebook junkie, this is one app you can’t live without. Keep in touch with all
your Facebook friends directly from your iPhone.

4. TaskTask
($4.99).  If you have an Exchange server (2003 or 2007) and you need to
manage Tasks, try this app. Create and modify tasks directly on your iPhone, and
synchronize wirelessly with your Exchange/Outlook account.

5. Dragon Dictation
(free).  No set up or training required, and the accuracy is exceptional.
This app is useful for composing email or text messages and even updating your
Facebook status.

6. TouchMeeting (free but requires
account).  A desktop and mobile Web conferencing service. Attend or host an
online meeting from your iPhone.

7. InerTrak for iPhone
($4.99).  An easy-to-use app that can keep track of time and expenses spent
on different matters. You can check off days as they are billed, and view daily
totals for each matter as well as a summary view across all matters. Each matter
can include an hourly rate, automatically showing the monetary as well as time
totals. InerTrak for iPhone can synchronize data with InerTrak for Windows. You
can also email your time entries.

8. DocScanner ($5.99).  Scan
black and white and color documents to PDF or image files using your iPhone by
snapping a photo. This app can also make scanned images searchable with its
build-in OCR software. All image processing takes place on the iPhone, after
which you can email the files.

9. Evernote (free but
requires account).  Create text, snapshot, and voice notes that you can
access from your iPhone or Mac or PC using the desktop software or a Web
browser.

10 LawStack (free).  Looking for a “legal
library in your pocket?” LawStack comes preloaded with the US Constitution,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal
Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure. You can also download other materials from within the
app.

11. Fastcase (free but requires
account).  Search case law from anywhere you have access to the
Internet.

IPHONE PROS AND CONS

The iPhone is not perfect,
but it has more going for it than against it. Below you’ll find my principal
pros and cons.

Attributes of the iPhone worthy of praise include:

• Native Support for Exchange Server — works with no drama.
• Voice Memos (iPhone 3GS only) — a simple voice recorder for making notes to
  yourself.
• Voice Control (iPhone 3GS only) — Place a call or play a song using voice
  commands. To activate this feature, hold the “Home” button down for 3
  seconds.
• Games — Stuck in an airport and don’t want to work? Play every kind of game
  imaginable. Or just surf the net with the excellent Web browser.

I may
love the iPhone but there is definitely room for improvement:

• Keyboard Navigation — What, no cursor keys? Editing can be quite cumbersome
  with no easy way to move back and forth through text.
• USB Support for Transferring Data — Most apps sync data via WiFi. I have set
  up an ad hoc wireless connection with my laptop but getting it to work reliably
  can be a challenge.
• AT&T — At this point, the iPhone is only available through AT&T. I
  dumped Sprint (which has excellent coverage in my area) to move to AT&T and
  my experience with its network has been less than stellar. There is a rumor
  afoot that a Verizon iPhone is en route this year. We’ll see.Also,
  AT&T does not offer insurance. Every smart phone I ever had from any carrier
  included the option to buy insurance through the carrier and have the cost
  appear on your monthly mobile bill. Insurance is useful for those of us who tend
  to run over, drop, or give swimming lessons to our smartphones. Not so with the
  iPhone. Break your iPhone, and you will dish out bucks for a new one. If you
  have a problem with it, take it to your local Apple store (if you have one) for
  a warranty repair. However, if you need a loaner, it will cost you. You can,
  however, purchase insurance through a service like SquareTrade.

  As
  an aside, AT&T offers a device called a 3G Microcell
  ($150). With AT&T coverage less than desirable, this device has made my
  transition to AT&T from Sprint relatively painless. Currently, the device is
  being tested in a few US markets (North Carolina being one of them). There are
  no per minute fees or any other charges whatsoever. There is an optional package
  ($19.99/month) that enables you to make unlimited mobile calls using your 3G
  Microcell connection. Also, there are some rebates available to lower the $150
  price tag.

  The 3G Microcell is a device that acts like a wireless network
  extender (also called “femtocell”). It uses a broadband Internet connection to
  give you 5-bar 3G access in your home or small office. The set up process is
  simple and it just works. I’ve used it for three months, and have had to reboot
  (power off/on) maybe three times. There are a lot of complaints that the 3G
  Microcell is just AT&T forcing the customer to pay for extending their
  less-than-adequate network. The AT&T 3G Microcell will roll out to the rest
  of the US starting this month.

CONCLUSION

Bottom line? I
love my iPhone despite a few drawbacks. It has all the functionality I could
ever need (or imagine) in a handheld device. Would I give it up? You’ll have to
pry it from my cold dead hands!

This article originated in TechnoFeature, a weekly TechnoLawyer
newsletter containing in-depth reporting by leading legal technology and practice management experts, many of whom have become “household names” in the
legal profession. It’s in this newsletter that you’ll find TechnoLawyer’s oft-quoted formal product reviews and accompanying TechnoScore ratings. Learn more about TechnoFeature.

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A big thanks to Christel Burris for sharing her thoughts on the iPhone.  Here are links to the apps that she recommended, many of which I also recommend and have previously discussed on iPhone J.D.:

1. LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99): 
2. Ilium eWallet ($9.99): 
3. Facebook (free): 
4. TaskTask ($4.99): 
5. Dragon Dictation (free): 
6. Touch Meeting (free): 
7. InerTrak for iPhone ($4.99): 
8. DocScanner ($5.99): 
9. Evernote (free): 
10. LawStack (free): 
11. Fastcase (free):