From time to time, attorneys who read iPhone J.D. write to tell me
how they are using
their iPhone or iPad in their practice. I love to read these stories,
and with permission I like to share them here on iPhone J.D. I recently heard from K. Lindsay Rakers, a personal injury attorney with Hefner, Eberspacher & Tapella who practices in Missouri and Illinois. She tells me that she frequently finds herself traveling to meet with injured clients, potential clients and fact and expert witnesses, and with her iPad and iPhone she has everything that she needs without having to lug around a computer. She currently uses an iPhone 4 (and plans to upgrade to an iPhone 5 in the future) and the third generation iPad.
I asked Lindsay to share with iPhone J.D. readers the most useful apps on her iPhone and iPad. Here is what she told me:
Twitter/LinkedIn/Avvo
– These apps allow me to connect with and keep in touch with other attorneys
across the nation and also allows me to stay on top of personal injury news.- Mr.
Reader – The app allows you to select different RSS feeds relating to the topic
areas you are interested in. When I have
extra time, I can read the news clips and create my own original blogs. - Dragon
Dictation – I don’t always dictate but if I am on the road or away from my
computer, I can easily dictate a letter or memo with this app, from my iPhone
or iPad, and email it to my assistant. - Scanner
Pro – This app uses the camera feature to take a picture of a document and then
save it as a PDF, just as if you had scanned it with a desktop scanner. [Jeff adds: here is my review.] - Dropbox
– I store many files in Dropbox so that I do not have to carry my computer
everywhere or remember to put files on a flash drive. - PDF
Expert – This app allows me to move PDFs from Dropbox or other applications and
highlight, sign or otherwise mark up the PDF document and then save or email
it. [Jeff adds: here is my review.] - Note Taker
HD – There are several note taking apps out there but I think this one looks
the best and is the most user friendly. [Jeff adds: I reviewed this app in 2011, but it has since been updated with a new interface. My current favorite app for taking notes is GoodNotes, but Note Taker HD is also an excellent app.] - Google
Earth – Because I represent a lot of car accident victims, having access to a
3D map has proven to be very useful when meeting with clients and experts. - TrialPad – This app allows me to display evidence to a jury or other audience. It can work wirelessly with a TV or projector
and is very user-friendly.
I asked Lindsay if she has tried using an Airport Express in a courtroom to create her own wireless network to use for TrialPad — the setup that California attorney David Sparks described in this post that I discussed this past Friday. She has not; she tells me that so far she has simply relied on the WiFi available in the courtroom, and that has worked well for her (although she emphasizes that she practiced first).
Thanks for sharing with us, Lindsay!
If you are willing to share your experiences using an iPhone or iPad in your law practice with other iPhone J.D. readers, I’d love to
hear from you! And in case you missed them, here are the reports that I previously shared from other attorneys:
- Zane Cagle: 1/1/12
- Megan Erickson: 5/11/11
- Tom Freeland: 7/13/10
- Cliff Maier: 12/22/08
- Alfred Saikali: 5/4/11
- Mike Schneider: 4/28/09
- Clark Stewart: 7/22/10
For sure a great story, really enjoyed reading what all your had to share from a lawyer’s point of view.
I can’t find any app called Mr. Reader.
Here is a link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mr.-reader/id412874834?mt=8
I purchased TrialPad and Apple TV + Airport Express to use in a jury trial next week. It worked beautifully on my HD TV at home. But on my test drive today at the courthouse, I was disappointed with the quality of the image because I have to use an HDMI to VGA converter. Although the local federal courthouse (opened 2006) was viewed as state of the art, the 6 year old LCD monitors in the courtroom and jury box are analog and also not letter box. Showing contracts and cell phone billing records (a key piece of evidence) as trial exhibits “pop” on my Ipad but have lots of gray background on the screens that diminishes the impact that makes it look like a photocopy circa 1975. I can get a higher quality image before the jury using hard copies on the “Elmo” document camera. I will still try using Trialpad for the ease of access and manipuation with callouts/highlight, etc, but I may end up using the hard copies on some exhibits.
Attorneys considering TrialPad would do well to make sure their local courts have up-to-date equipment or, alternatively, consider bringing in their own monitors.
(PS, FYI, your blog would not let me post this comment from my Ipad, even though signed in; had to post from my laptop.)