I’m a big fan of the keyboard that I use in my office, the Logitech MX Keys, which I reviewed in 2020.  Not only is it a great extended keyboard on which I enjoy typing, but there are three buttons that I can press to switch between a Bluetooth connection to my PC, my iPad, or my iPhone.  As a result, I can easily use a single keyboard with multiple devices. 

At home, I use with my iMac an Apple Magic Keyboard (with keypad), and it doesn’t have that cool feature to switch the Bluetooth connection.  Thus, if my iPad is next to my home computer and I want to use the keyboard connected to my iMac with the iPad, I need to manually remove the Bluetooth connection with my Mac and then find and connect the keyboard to my iPad using Bluetooth.  And then, when I’m done, I need to do the reverse to restore the connection to my Mac  It’s enough of a pain that I almost never do it.  But now I’m using an app on my Mac that makes this easy:  KeyPad by ToolBunch LLC. 

KeyPad is an app that you can download for free from the App Store on the Mac, and it costs $2.99 to unlock all of the features.  When you launch KeyPad on your Mac for the first time, you need to open the Settings app on your iPad (or iPhone), select Bluetooth, and then select your computer from the My Devices section.  You won’t have to do this again.

In the future, simply launch KeyPad on your Mac and it will connect to your iPad. 

At this point, anything that you type using your Mac’s keyboard will be typed on your iPad, just as if the keyboard was directly connected to the iPad.  To stop the connection, you can just switch to another program on your Mac.  KeyPad only does its magic when it is the front application on your Mac.  Thus, when you want to use KeyPad again, just bring KeyPad to the front again.  One way to do this is to click the KeyPad icon in the Dock on your Mac.  KeyPad also gives you a shortcut:  if the KeyPad app is running and in the background, just hold down Command-Option-P and the app will come back to the front and connect to your iPad again.  Or, if you are already connect to your iPad, that same shortcut will also move KeyPad to the background so that your keyboard works with your Mac again.

If that was all that KeyPad did, I would find the program incredibly useful.  But the program can also make the mouse connect to your Mac work with your iPad.  To trigger this, just press Control-Option on your Mac at the same time.  Press Control-Option again to make your mouse work with your Mac again.  Unlike the keyboard feature of KeyPad, which works great, I find the mouse support to be a little jumpy on my iPad.  Maybe that has something to do with the specific mouse that I’m using (a Kensington ExpertMouse trackball).

KeyPad has another feature:  shortcuts.  When you are using just the keyboard function of KeyPad (letting your mouse control your Mac), there are shortcuts at the bottom of the window that you can click with your mouse to trigger certain actions on the iPad.  These shortcuts are:

• Power button (lock the iPad)
• Menu button (the same as the home button on the iPad)
• Paste
• Keyboard (toggle show/hide the on-screen keyboard)
• Search
• Rewind
• Play/Pause
• Fast-forward
• Mute
• Volume down
• Volume up
• Home

I have found this KeyPad app to be incredibly useful.  For example, sometimes I will be using my Mac but I’m not connected to my firm network so I don’t have anything open on my Mac to use my firm email, but my iPad is right there on my desk.  I simply launch Mail on my iPad, make KeyPad active, and then I can type a new email or respond to an email using the keyboard that is right in front of me.  When I want to go back to using my Mac, I can either use my mouse on my Mac to switch to another app, or better yet, just use the shortcut Command-Option-P.

I often use KeyPad to type something that is just a few words.  Without the KeyPad app, it would never be worth going through all of the trouble to connect my Mac’s keyboard to the iPad just to make it easier to type a few words.  But with KeyPad, it just takes a fraction of a second to type Command-Option-P, type what I need to type, and then use Command-Option-P again to return to my Mac.

KeyPad is a great little app, and the magic that it provides is easily worth the $3 price.

Click here (on your Mac) to download KeyPad from the Mac App Store (free; $2.99 to unlock all features)

It seems that Apple is very close to the release of iOS 14.5, and I cannot wait.  This is the release that will let you unlock your iPhone even if you are wearing a mask (preventing Face ID from working) so long as you are wearing your Apple Watch.  I’m getting my second dose of the vaccine later today (woo-hoo!) but I suspect that wearing a mask will continue to be a thing for quite a while.  Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch reports on another new feature coming in iOS 14.5.  In the past, the iPhone would assume that you want a female voice for Siri unless you change it.  (In the United States, at least; in some other countries, the default is the male voice, unless you change it.)  But when you install iOS 14.5, you select your preferred voice at the outset.  There are also two brand new Siri voices to pick from.  And there is more as well.  iOS 14.5 will be a nice update.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• In an article for Slaw, legal technology experts Sharon Nelson and John Simek explain why, before long, lawyers may not have to worry about passwords, instead providing authentication based on biometrics (like Face ID) and hardware security keys.  In the meantime, however, I strongly encourage that you use a password manager.
• The apps TrialPad and DocReviewPad now support bookmarks in PDF files, as explained in this LitSoftware blog post.
• Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories reviews the HoverBar Duo, an iPad stand that holds your iPad up as if it were a monitor.
• Tim Cook noted on Twitter that Apple celebrated its 45th birthday on April 1, 2021.
• Reuters reports that airlines may soon require the use of an iPhone app to confirm that you have received the COVID-19 vaccine before allowing you to get on an airplane.
• Mike Schmitz of The Sweet Setup names Timery the best time-tracking app. 
• For All Mankind is one of my favorite shows on Apple TV+ — heck, it is one of my favorite shows of the last few years — and it is currently in the middle of its second season.  Last Friday’s episode was one of the best of the series, and today’s episode is also quite good.  Jeff Wilser of GQ discusses the show and explains why more people should check it out.
• Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reports that there are three Apple TV+ shows with 100% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes:  Dickinson, For All Mankind, and The Snoopy Show.  Those are great shows, but somehow Ted Lasso only has a 91% critic score (and a 98% audience score) even though that is definitely one of the best shows on Apple TV+.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors reports that Apple’s WWDC developer conference will begin on June 7.  That is when I expect to see Apple first preview iOS 15, which I expect to be released this Fall.
• Jake Peterson of Gadget Hacks notes that there is a Code Scanner app on the iPhone that you may not know about.  You can also just use the Camera app to scan many codes, such as QR codes.
• And finally, I have fond memories for many older operating systems that I used long ago, such as the ones on the Sinclair ZX81 that I used for many years and on the Commodore 64 that I used after that.  I do not have any fond memories of using DOS, except perhaps that I remember having to use it to launch WordPerfect 5.1 on some PCs when I was a summer law clerk in 1992.  But if you do have fond memories of DOS, the Will It Work? channel on YouTube shows in a video out how to get DOS running on an iPhone and then install some DOS games from a disk.  Very impressive:

Thank you to Nota for once again sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month.  Nota is a no-cost IOLTA management solution powered by M&T Bank.  It was built by working directly with solo and small law firms and is designed to help simplify trust account management.

Nota’s cloud-based intuitive design uses real-time information directly from your bank accounts making it seamless for you to adhere to accounting requirements.  Forget using a spreadsheet to track your individual client balances.  All money in and out of your IOLTA account can be assigned to a client, and reconciled down to the penny.

Features include one-click reconciliation reporting, custom transaction alerts and virtual client sub-accounts with smart tagging.

I had a chance to see a comprehensive demo of how Nota works, and I was impressed.  You access Nota by using a web browser on your PC or Mac, and the interface is clean and straightforward.  The service makes it easy to create and manage virtual sub-accounts for each of your matters with no limit to the number of client matters.  Nota closes the loop between your bank account, checkbook, and client ledger to help you to minimize IOLTA management headaches.  After all, you went to law school to be a lawyer — not to be an accountant.

Nota is currently available to attorneys whose offices are located in and who are practicing law in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, and West Virginia and to whom the rules and regulations for IOLTA accounts are applicable.

Click here to learn more about Nota.  Terms and conditions may apply.

Nobody but Apple knows for sure, but there seems to be a feeling in the air that Apple will soon announce some new products, including perhaps a new iPad Pro.  There had been rumors that the announcement would occur this week, but (obviously) that did not happen.  But I still think that we are likely close to a new iPad Pro.  What will it include?  In an article for Macworld, Dan Moren has some pretty good ideas of what we might see in the next iPad Pro.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• California attorney David Sparks explains how he uses the OmniGraffle app on his iPad and Mac to create a status board to track all of his projects, including his law-related projects.
• In an article for Macworld, Jason Snell writes that twenty years ago this week, Apple introduced Mac OS X, the operating system for the Mac that was based on software developed by NeXT, a company created by Steve Jobs after he was kicked out of Apple.  I rarely discuss Mac software on iPhone J.D., but this story is directly relevant to the iPhone.  The software at the heart of Mac OS X is the same software that is used on the iPhone and iPad.  And if it were not for Apple purchasing NeXT so that it could develop Mac OS X, Steve Jobs may not have returned to Apple.  And without Steve Jobs, I don’t think that we would have seen the iPhone and iPad — certainly not in the form that we know today. 
• It is extremely rare for any company to buy another company and have the ramifications become as major as Apple’s purchase of NeXT in the 1990s.  But any such purchase has the potential to have important implications, and Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac reports that Apple has purchased more Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies than anyone else between 2016 and 2020.  It is hard to imagine that those purchases are just to improve Siri’s ability to answer questions, so my guess is that Apple has big plans for AI in the future.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook writes about the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year in an editorial for the Wall Street Journal.
• Jakub Vávra of the security company Avast writes that bogus apps on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store have scammed people out of $400 million.  These apps entice you to into a free trial, but after that, they charge you for a subscription, and unless you pay attention and cancel the subscription, you may find yourself charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.  Be careful about signing up for subscriptions when you download an app.
• This wasn’t a scam but instead a price error, but Stephen Warwck of iMore notes that a woman in London noticed that a grocery store charged her £1,599 (more than $2,200) when she used Apple Pay to pay for bananas.  I can understand how this happens.  Apple Pay is so easy to use that it is often tempting to just pay and go, without paying attention to how much you were charged — even if you were grossly overcharged.
• Lauren Dragan of Wirecutter explains how to clean AirPods.
• Zac Hall of 9to5Mac takes a look back at his Apple Watch review from 2015 and discusses how the product has changed six years later.
• And finally, Apple posted a new video this week called Fumble which demonstrates how the iPhone 12 has extra protection that might protect the iPhone if you drop it.  Hopefully, you have not had too many experiences like the one demonstrated by the woman in this video:

Apple’s AirPods are such a great product that many folks – like me – use them every day.  Unfortunately, after you use them a lot, the rechargeable batteries start to wear out.  Instead of listening for up to five hours before needing to recharge, you eventually may find the batteries wearing out after only an hour, or even less.  And because you cannot open up AirPods to replace the batteries yourself, many folks respond by spending $160 on a new pair of AirPods — with a new charging case, even though they didn’t really need a new charging case.  Apple does offer an AirPods battery service, but it costs $49 for each AirPod, so that will cost you about $100.

Kevin Purdy of iFixIt writes about a new company called Podswap which came up with a way to replace the batteries in a pair of AirPods.  For only $60, the company will send you a refurbished pair of AirPods, and then you use the same shipping box to send back your AirPods.  Podswap refurbishes the AirPods that you sent in by replacing the battery and cleaning the product, and then the company sells that pair to the next person, and so on.  You keep the same charging case that you had originally, and you use your original case with the refurbished iPods.

I haven’t tried Podswap, so I cannot vouch for the company.  However, iFixIt is a trusted website when it comes to repairing Apple products, and so I trust Kevin Purdy when he says that, based on his experience, the service seems to work as advertised.  Check out the iFixIt article for more information.  Podswap currently only works with first and second generation AirPods, not the AirPods Pro.

I like the idea of spending only $60 instead of $160 or $100 when your batteries start to wear out.  And it is also nice to know that when you use Podswap, your old AirPods are being reused instead of ending up in a trash heap somewhere. 

Click here for Podswap.

In my review of the HomePod mini from a few weeks ago, I noted that the original HomePod didn’t appeal to me but that I’m a big fan of the mini version.  Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch reports that Apple has now discontinued the HomePod and will instead focus on the HomePod mini.  I guess that lots of other folks agreed with me that amazing sound in an expensive device is not as appealing as very good sound in a $100 device.  I hope that Apple does indeed continue to develop the HomePod mini because it is a great device.  In fact, I’d like to see Apple develop even more devices for a connected home.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• California attorney David Sparks explains on his MacSparky website why he likes using the Reeder app to read his RSS feeds.  (I’ve been using Feedly for a long time, and that app works well for me.)
• David Sparks also talks about how actor Justin Long, who appeared with John Hodgman in the successful I’m a Mac/I’m a PC commercials, is now appearing in commercials for Intel that criticize Apple products — part of Intel’s response to the Apple-made processors used in the new M1 Macs (and iPhone and iPad) that are so much faster than anything else on the market.  David wonders if Apple could have included some sort of non-compete language in their original contract with Justin Long that would have stopped him from doing ads for Intel.  However, given the limitations that many states have on non-compete agreements, I wonder if that would have even been enforceable.
• Lyle Moran of ABA Journal discussed the 60 in 60 session from the recent ABA TECHSHOW and highlighted some of the best tips and apps.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors discusses the new features in the latest version of the Overcast app for the Apple Watch for people who run with an Apple Watch.  I mostly use my Apple Watch on my treadmill at home, but I used just the Overcast app on my Apple Watch and my AirPods Pro when I was jogging in the park this past Sunday, and it worked great.  I really like the new version of Overcast on the Apple Watch.
• Jason Cipriani of CNet recommends some iPhone settings that you might want to adjust.
• If you want to turn your iPad into something that is close to a laptop, Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad is a great option.  But what if you want to turn your iPad into something close to a desktop computer?  Kensington’s new StudioDock iPad docketing station is expensive at about $400 but for some folks it might be the perfect solution.  Darragh Murphy of Laptop Mag posted this review.  And Federico Viticci’s review on MacStories is also worth reading.
• The Apple Support account on Twitter notes that you can swipe to delete a digit in the iPhone’s Calculator app.  I did not know that.
• If you look the list of recent calls in the Phone app on your iPhone, do you see small checkmarks next to some of the entries?  Glenn Fleishmann explains what those mean and how they may help to reduce spam calls in this article for TidBITS.
• Zak Doffman of Forbes explains how some iPhone apps are tracking your location and what you can do about it.
• If you have been to a Disney park recently, then you know about the MagicBand that you can wear to enter the park, pay for items, and more.  Avery Maehrer, the Manager of Communications at Walt Disney World Resort, announced this week that you will soon be able to use your own Apple Watch or iPhone in place of a Magic Band.
• And finally, Apple is now running a fun commercial for the AirPods Pro called Jump, with the tagline:  “Turn the world into your playground with AirPods Pro.”  Apple is also using its TikTok account to encourage people to make their own version of a Jump video, and Apple is posting some of the best results to the Apple TikTok account, and the ones that they have posted so far are impressive.

We are finally getting to the point where more and more people are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.  My wife and I got our first dose this past Friday, and I have never been more happy to see a nurse in my life.  However, I know that some people who are eligible are still having some difficulties finding out where to go.  I myself have relatives in other states who are less tech-savvy and have been having difficulties.  If you are trying to find a place to get the vaccine, either for yourself or to assist your friends or family members, the Maps app on your iPhone (or iPad) can now provide some help.

Apple announced yesterday that the Maps app can now identify over 20,000 locations where the vaccines are available.  You can also find out the operating hours, addresses, phone numbers, and link to the websites that you can use to book appointments.

For example, here in New Orleans, if I search for Vaccination Sites in Maps, I see that there are 25 locations near me:

The data comes from a free online service called VaccineFinder.  And unfortunately, that seems to mean that the data is not complete in some areas.  For example, all of the New Orleans locations are pharmacies, which means that the Maps app is not currently showing some of the “super vaccination” sites such as the New Orleans Convention Center and the drive-through location at the baseball stadium on Airline Highway (which is where I went).  But it is a start.  

If you are advising a loved one who lives in another city, this is an easy resource to use as you help them to make an appointment for the vaccine.

By the way, you can still use the Maps app if you need find a place to get a COVID-19 test.  Just search for COVID-19 Testing in the Maps app.

I’m happy to welcome back Lit Software as a sponsor of iPhone J.D.  Lit Software has been making sophisticated iPad apps for litigators since 2010, the same year that the iPad was introduced.  And the company is always looking at ways to do more.

Lit Software recently introduced Lit Suite, a subscription that gives you access to all of the Lit Software apps including all updates.  Right now, that means that you get access to TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReviewPad.  I recently reviewed the latest versions of those apps.  I’ve enjoyed using all of these apps in my own law practice.  Indeed, for the past week, I’ve used TranscriptPad every single day.

The subscription also gives you access to upcoming new features and products.  For example, I mentioned last month that Lit Software is working on app called ExhibitPad, which can be used for a purely digital presentation of evidence and demonstratives.

Moreover, now that Apple has provided new tools for using iPad apps on a Mac, Lit Software gave me permission to reveal that the company is exploring the possibility of bringing its iPad apps to the Mac.  The company is not ready to announce anything yet, and there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to see how this might work.  But ever since July 2020 when Apple started sending developers the tools to create programs for the new Macs with an M1 processor, Lit Software has been working on porting the apps.  And as the following photos show, early builds of the apps are up-and-running on the Mac:

Time will tell when Lit Software will have something specific to announce on the Mac.  Nevertheless, I mention this ongoing R&D because it is an example of how the company is constantly looking at what Apple is making possible and then exploring how the Lit Software products can take advantage of those opportunities to become even more useful for attorneys.  This is exactly what I look for when I decide whether to subscribe to an app:  is the developer actively working to improve the app?  For Lit Software, the answer is definitely yes.  

If you own an iPad and you work with deposition transcripts, work with documents, and/or present evidence to a judge or jury, then the Lit Suite collection of apps is perfect for you.  Thanks to Lit Software for more than a decade of supporting attorneys who use iPads, and thanks again for being a sponsor of iPhone J.D. this month.

Click here to get LIT SUITE: 

I often share stories of people who used an Apple Watch in a dire circumstance, and this one has a new twist:  ice.  A teacher in New Hampshire who is an experienced ice skater fell through the ice and could not get out.  There was nobody around and he knew that he had about 10 minutes to live.  Then he realized he was wearing his Apple Watch, so he was able to use it to call 911.  Firefighters arrived about five minutes later, and he was saved.  This report from Mike Cronin of WMUR has more details.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• I mentioned this in yesterday’s post about ABA Formal Opinion 498, but just in case you missed it, Apple issued an important security update this week to patch a flaw in the Safari web browser that can be exploited by malicious websites.  Apple has more information here.  If you haven’t yet upgraded to iOS 14.4.1, you should do so soon.
• In an article for Wisconsin Lawyer, James Pearson (who is not a lawyer) recommends the best smartphone.  His top recommendation is the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, or he recommends the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra for folks who use Android.
• Ben Court of Men’s Health provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the studio that Apple uses to create the Fitness+ videos.
• Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviews a new iPad stand from Twelve South called the HoverBar Duo.  If you use an external keyboard and mouse/trackpad with an iPad, this looks like a great way to lift the iPad as if it was a monitor.
• If you use a Magic Keyboard for iPad, José Adorno of 9to5Mac has a good list of keyboard shortcuts.  And most of his tips work with any Bluetooth keyboard.
• Heather Kelly of the Washington Post writes about how efforts by parents to limit screen time of their kids has completely gone out of the window during the pandemic.  That’s certainly been true at my house.  And I’m glad that my kids have been able to use an iPhone or iPad to stay in touch with friends even when they cannot be with them in person.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball explains how to have your Apple Watch notify you when it is fully charged — which is particularly useful when you wear an Apple Watch while you sleep and need to find time to charge it during the day.
• Joanna Nelius of Gizmodo writes that a processor that was used in the iMac in the 1990s is powering NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars.  I suspect that it won’t be long before robots on Mars are using iPhone or even Apple Watch processors.
• And finally, this has nothing to do with the iPhone, but if you have not yet seen the amazing video of a drone going through a bowling alley, you really need to watch this one.  This is one of those I-cannot-believe-that-they-did-this videos, and while the technical feat is impressive enough, the way that they worked the people into the video is equally impressive.  Mike Ives of the New York Times explains how the video was made — one shot, no computer graphics, albeit on the tenth try.  The video is called Right Up Our Alley:

The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issues ethics opinions that interpret the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.  While not binding precedent, these ABA Formal Opinions are often cited as persuasive when courts and others interpret the rules of professional conduct in states that are similar or identical to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.  Yesterday, the Committee released Formal Opinion 498 titled “Virtual Practice,” which you can download here in PDF format.  The opinion provides guidance when using technology to practice law outside of a traditional law office.  Every lawyer has had to do quite a bit of that over the past year of the pandemic.  But many lawyers who use an iPhone or iPad have had, at least in part, a virtual practice long before 2020.  Here are the recommendations in Formal Opinion 498 that jumped out at me as particularly relevant for any attorney using an iPhone or iPad.

Guiding principles

The opinion begins by citing three guiding principles that are especially relevant to the virtual practice of law.  First, a lawyer has a duty of competence and diligence, and this means that a lawyer should keep abreast of the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.  That makes sense, but it can be easier said than done considering how quickly new risks arise.  For example, a large number of law firms use Microsoft Exchange (Outlook) for their email, and just a few days ago, tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers were infiltrated by Chinese hackers, as noted by this article by Andy Greenberg of Wired.  If you didn’t learn about that right away and patch the server in your law firm, you increase your risk of being hacked.

Second, lawyers have a duty of confidentiality.  We all know that.

Third, lawyers with managerial authority have an ethical obligation to supervise other attorneys so that there is compliance with the ethical rules.  That means that many of us need to not just do the right thing in our own practice but also ensure that those who work with us do the same.

Specific recommendations

Here are a few of the specific recommendations that struck me as important for lawyers using an iPhone and/or an iPad.

Security.  The opinion recommends that attorneys use secure Wi-Fi routers and consider using VPN, depending upon the risks associated with any specific Wi-Fi router.  Lawyers should also use strong (and unique) passwords, which is why I recommend a password manager such as 1Password.  The opinion also recommends that lawyers install software updates that fix security flaws.  For example, just a few days ago, Apple released iOS 14.4.1 to address security issues related to maliciously crafted websites.

Cloud services.  Cloud services are great because you can access important documents no matter where you are located in the world.  But you need to make sure that hackers cannot access the same content, especially when it can contain confidential and/or privileged information.  The opinion repeats a recommendation from a 2018 opinion that lawyers using cloud services should “(i) choose a reputable company, and (ii) take reasonable steps to ensure that the confidentiality of client information is preserved, and that the information is readily accessible to the lawyer.”

Virtual meetings.  I’ve participated in a large number of virtual court hearings, and I’m a big fan.  Not only do you eliminate the risk associated with the pandemic, but you also avoid the inconvenience of transportation to and from a courthouse.  But for the most part, virtual court hearings do not involve confidential information.  On the other hand, virtual meetings with clients and others can concern very confidential topics.  The opinion advises being aware of security measures associated with virtual conferencing software.  That makes sense in theory, although the opinion doesn’t offer specific suggestions other than the use of strong passwords and taking advantage of higher tiers of security offered by vendors. 

The opinion also advises considering whether the meeting is or can be recorded and the implications of that.  The opinion also warns not to participate in a virtual meeting in a place where a third party can overhear the conversation.  These are all good suggestions, but they are really nothing new.  I have often encountered attorneys and others in an airport, restaurant, etc. having what appears to be a confidential telephone conversation even though others can hear them.

(By the way, before I leave the topic of virtual hearings, I recommend that you check out this recent post from attorney Kevin Underhill on his Lowering the Bar website.  It is amazing to me that Michigan prosecutor Deborah Davis figured out that the defendant in a domestic abuse hearing was attending the Zoom hearing from the same house as the victim, presumably to influence her testimony, while he lied to the judge about his location.  According to a local news report, the prosecutor received a tip before the hearing that this might occur.)

Smart speakers.  The opinion states:  “Unless the technology is assisting the lawyer’s law practice, the lawyer should disable the listening capability of devices or services such as smart speakers, virtual assistants, and other listening-enabled devices while communicating about client matters.  Otherwise, the lawyer is exposing the client’s and other sensitive information to unnecessary and unauthorized third parties and increasing the risk of hacking.” 

Does this mean that you need to disable Siri on your iPhone, iPad, HomePod, etc.?  I don’t think so because of the way that Apple makes these devices, but you should consider this and decide for yourself.  These devices only listen for you to say the phrase “Hey Siri,” and unless that phrase is uttered, nothing that you say is sent to any Apple server.  If the phrase is heard, these devices virtually always alert you that Siri is listening, so you will often know if it is occurring.  And even when a voice recording is sent to an Apple server, it is encrypted and anonymous so that it is not associated with you. 

On the other hand, as I mentioned in my recent review of the Apple HomePod, devices made by other companies may not work the same way.  Thus, if you are talking near one of those smart devices, I recommend that you take the time to learn how they work.  I’m comforted by the fact that Apple works hard to maintain privacy and doesn’t have any economic incentive to invade your privacy, but that is not true for many other companies.

Conclusion

I’ve covered most of the highlights, but there is even more addressed in this Formal Opinion, so I encourage you to read it.  The opinion doesn’t provide many bright-line answers, but it does a good job of highlighting the issues that attorneys should consider when using mobile technology.