I love to hear how other attorneys are using an iPhone or iPad in their law practice, so I always appreciate it when one of you is willing to share what you are using with the rest of the readers of iPhone J.D. Today I am happy to share a submission from Paul Kiesel of Kiesel Law LLP, a plaintiff trial attorney in Beverly Hills, California. Paul is a co-author of two legal treatises: California Pretrial Civil Procedure and California Civil Discovery.
Paul loves to use technology in his law practice, and the ABA Journal even named him one of the Techiest Lawyers. Paul has had a number of paperless jury trials over the last few years thanks to his iPad. In just a few days on August 16, 2018, Paul will be teaching a CLE Webinar hosted by the Federal Bar Association called How the iPad Can Be a Litigator’s Best Friend. It is a two-hour CLE and starts at 2:00 Eastern.
Here is what Paul told me about some of the ways that he uses his iPad Pro in his law practice::
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Ten years ago, as files began to overwhelm our firm’s working space and as our offsite archive service costs exceeded thousands of dollars each month, I thought there has to be a better way. Necessity being the mother of invention, our firm began its journey to being paperless. We started to scan each and every correspondence, pleading, medical record and other piece of paper entering our front door.
Five years ago, as our building office space became limited, a decision was made to eliminate our file “room” and actually remove the paper files. I was able to recapture 20% of our building’s usable space by removing file cabinets. At the same time, each attorney at the firm was provided an iPad in lieu of case files.
Now, five years later, the iPad is the single vehicle, with the exception of one partner who is partial to his Surface Pro, we use to review and annotate all materials. For years I traveled with both a laptop and an iPad but with the advent of the iPad Pro 12.0″ and the Apple Pencil, this is the single device I use and travel with. Whether it be at my home reading the morning NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, or reviewing pleadings, the iPad is the single device.
In order to use the iPad for this purpose, I originally used PDF Expert to review and annotate documents. Today, my go-to annotation program is Liquid Text. Prior to using the iPad Pro 12.9″, my go-to tablet was the original 9.7″ version of the iPad, but for using Liquid Text the 12.9″ size is a must. Why? Liquid Text splits the screen in two sections, one for the document and the other for notes. Using the split screen really requires the additional real estate (screen size) the 12.9″ iPad Pro provides. I tested the 10.5″ iPad Pro but still found it wasn’t a big enough screen to do the job. So, my first recommendation is Liquid Text.
My second recommendation is to purchase a virtual private network (VPN) application. A VPN provides a secure “pipe” for you to access the internet when on a public WiFi without fear that bad guys or gals are hacking into your communications. The VPN app that I use is called Encrypt.Me, and it works magically. [Jeff notes: I reviewed this app back when it was called Cloak, and I agree that it is a fantastic app.] The cost is minimal and the benefits, potentially massive. The only caveat is that several public WiFi networks will not allow you to use a VPN when accessing. An example is the GoGo WiFi network on commercial flights. The GoGo network will not allow you to access their system if you have the VPN active. It took me hours to figure out why I couldn’t log on to the network until I tried disabling the VPN and then I was able to get on. So, you need to make a trade, at times, between access and security.
The next app I would recommend is TripIt. This is a fantastic program that allows you to aggregate all of your travel plans in one spot. [Jeff adds: I reviewed the free version of TripIt in 2013 and I reviewed TripIt Pro in 2017. I continue to pay for TripIt Pro because I find it so valuable when I travel.]
My final use of the iPad, although a bit unconventional and a wee bit pricey, is to send each of my settlement demand packages by way of an iPad. My firm creates, for about 90 percent of my cases, a settlement “brochure” including a video depicting our liability analysis, the client’s injuries and damages, along with attached medical records and other documentary evidence. I typically send between one and six iPads depending on the number of counsel, adjusters, and decision makers involved. I have been doing that since the iPad was first introduced.
There are dozens of other applications and uses that I don’t have time to share here, but feel free to view my webinar on “using your iPad” in trial. Here’s the link. Enjoy.
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Thanks again, Paul, for taking the time to share with us some of the ways that you use your iPad. Sending an iPad as a digital settlement brochure is a very interesting approach!
If any of you are willing to share your own experiences using an iPhone or iPad in your law practice with other iPhone J.D. readers, I’d love to hear from you. In case you missed any of them, here are stories that I previously shared from other attorneys:
- Christopher Abernathy: 1/8/15
- William Axtell: 2/19/13
- Scott Bassett: 11/14/16
- Jay Brinker: 8/6/18
- Zane Cagle: 1/1/12
- Carolyn Elefant: 10/8/15
- Megan Erickson: 5/11/11
- Jeff Forbes: 3/21/13
- Tom Freeland: 7/13/10
- Will Harrelson: 8/19/14
- Cliff Maier: 12/22/08
- Lindsay Rakers: 12/18/12
- Alfred Saikali: 5/4/11
- Mike Schneider: 4/28/09
- Todd Smith: 11/7/16
- Clark Stewart: 7/22/10
- Joe Suhre: 12/3/13
- John Walker: 7/2/13
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This article won the BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award on August 20, 2018. The editors of BlawgWorld, a free weekly email newsletter for lawyers and law firm administrators, give this award to one article every week that they feel is a must-read for this audience.