Black's Law Dictionary is, of course, the leading dictionary of legal terms and phrases. Ever since Bryan Garner took over as editor for the 7th edition, released in 1999, a new edition has been released every five years. It was first available on iOS in April of 2009, when West released an iOS version based upon the 8th edition (which was released in 2004). That was actually West's first app for the iPhone. (My review of that app is here.) In June of 2009, the 9th edition of Black's Law Dictionary was released, and an iOS app based on that edition was released in November of 2010. (My review of that app is here.) The 10th edition of Black's Law Dictionary was released in May of 2014, and a year later West released the iOS version based on the 10th edition in May of 2015. I had been meaning to check out what is new in this latest version of the app, and West recently sent me a free copy for this review. (Note also that Thomson Reuters is a sponsor of iPhone J.D.) At $54.99, this is likely to be one of the more expensive apps on your iPhone and iPad, but I have always found it very useful to have access to Black's Law Dictionary at my fingertips, and this 10th edition is a nice step forward, so I recommend it to all attorneys.
There are two differences between the 10th edition and the 9th edition for iOS. First, the content is expanded based upon the improvements in the 10th edition. This means that there are 7,500 new entries. (The 9th edition was touted as having over 45,000 terms; for this edition West says over 50,000.) There are lots of other improvements and changes. Rather than me try to explain them, Bryan Garner himself wrote a good article in the ABA Journal explaining what is new in the 10th edition.
The other major improvement in this app over the 9th edition is a fresh new interface, and I really like it. There are five sections in the app, each represented by an icon on the left side of the screen. The main section is the first icon, which gives you access to the dictionary. Type in part of a search term and the app starts to show you choices that you can tap, saving you the trouble of typing the entire word. And a new feature in the 10th edition is that the app provides alternative suggestions for many misspelled search terms.
When you view an entry, you are provided with the definition, sources for the definition (often including caselaw) with hyperlinks to the WestlawNext app, related terms, and a pronunciation guide. Better yet, tap on the speaker icon for many terms and you can hear the term pronounced. You can chose between three font sizes. The first of these two pictures uses the largest font size, and the second one the smallest font size.
The second section of the app the Word of the Day. It's a fun way to learn about legal terms that might be new to you. You can view previous words of the day by scrolling along the bottom.
The third section of the app is Bookmarks. Simply tap the bookmark icon when you are looking at any term and that term is added to the list.
The fourth section of the app is the History. You can see a full list of words that you have looked up, sorted either alphabetically or by the date that you looked up the term.
The final section of the app is the Information. In some apps the Information tab just provides boring information, but here it is full of useful items. First, you can read the Preface to the Tenth Edition by Bryan Garner, a Guide to the Dictionary and a List of Abbreviations in Definitions, all of which are useful. Additionally, unlike the prior version of the app, this version of the app includes ten appendices, including the U.S. Constitution, a list of all current and prior U.S. Supreme Court Justices, a map of federal circuits, and more.
One of the more useful appendices is the list of Legal Maxims, a list of Latin sentences and phrases that are sometimes used by lawyers and judges. Of course there are many Latin phrases that have entered regular usage; I suspect that anyone who has gone to law school knows what res ipsa loquitur means, and terms like that are in the main legal dictionary. But more obscure phases and sentences that do not show up in the dictionary are included in this appendix. For example, if you see a judge using the phrase in dubio sequendum quod tutius est, this appendix will tell you that means "In a doubtful case, one must follow the safer course."
The layout of the appendices is less sophisticated than the other parts of the app. They are just a collection of PDF files, and you cannot search the text from within the app, although there is an easy workaround: you can export any appendix to another app that reads PDF files (such as GoodReader) and use that app to search the content of the appendix.
All of the screenshots above are from the iPad version of the app, but this is a universal app so once you buy it you can use it on both your iPad and your iPhone.
If you don't yet own Black's Law Dictionary for iOS, I recommend that you get it. Ever since I have been in law school, I have owned a book version of the 6th edition, and while I sometimes used it in my law practice, it mostly sat on my shelf and collected dust. But ever since I started having Black's Law Dictionary available on my iPhone in 2009, and more recently on my iPhone and iPad, I've used it a ton more. This dictionary becomes much more useful when it is always available on the device in your pocket or in front of you on your desk. Of course, I sometimes use it to look up a legal term that I don't know, and that is always useful. But I also use it to look up a term that I do know simply because reading a concise definition will often help me to craft a persuasive sentence in a brief that I am writing. And I have used the iPhone version many times when I am in court and my opponent uses a legal term — often because he or she is using the term incorrectly, and by quickly looking at the definition, I can easily explain why in my rebuttal.
If you already own the 9th edition of Black's Legal Dictionary for iOS, then you know how often you use the app, and that will likely tell you whether it is worth purchasing the new edition. (This is a new app, so there is no discounted upgrade price.) Assuming that West continues on the current release cycle, perhaps it helps to know that we likely won't see an 11th edition of the book until 2019, with the next iOS version perhaps not coming out until 2020, so you'll get a lot of years of use out of the $55 that you spend on this version of the app.
Click here to get Black's Law Dictionary, 10th edition ($54.99):