TechnoLawyer

Originally published on November 25, 2013 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

A new word processing fight has begun, this time on touchscreen devices and in the cloud. In this issue of SmallLaw, litigator and iPad for lawyers expert Jeff Richardson reviews Apple's new Pages 2.0, which runs on iPads and iPhones and is compatible with the new Mac and web versions. Jeff focuses on the features lawyers care about, including formatting, redlining, realtime collaboration, and most importantly document fidelity with Microsoft Word. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for the top 10 ways to market your law firm on a tight budget.

REVIEW OF PAGES 2.0 (IPAD WORD PROCESSING APP)

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer recently revealed that Microsoft Office for the iPad will ship when the company finishes developing a version of Office that supports a touch interface. He didn't specify a ship date.

In the meantime, Apple's Pages word processor (one third of the iWork suite) has been one of the best iPad word processors compatible with Microsoft Word.

Previously, Pages cost everyone $9.99. However, it's now free when you buy an iOS device (which also makes it free for any older devices you have that use the same Apple ID for the App Store). There are two catches. First, Pages 2.0 has changed significantly. Second, the new version requires iOS 7. In this issue of SmallLaw, I'll evaluate the most notable new features from the perspective of legal practice.

Before we get underway, other alternatives for working with Word files on an iPad exist. I covered these earlier this year. Unlike Pages, they have not changed dramatically in the interim. See Jeff Richardson, Viewing, Editing, and Redlining Word Documents on Your iPad and iPhone, SmallLaw (January 15, 2013).

Overview of Pages 2.0

The new version of Pages works well for typing notes and drafting simple documents (especially if you use a Bluetooth keyboard). It's powerful, very stable (it has never crashed on me), supports viewing and creation of redlines, exports to PDF format, and can both import from and export to Word format. It's also handy that Pages now stores documents online using Apple's iCloud service. This enables you to access your documents from other devices as I explain in more detail below.

Apple didn't just update the iOS version of Pages but also the Mac version. As alluded to above, there's also a web version of Pages. The changes to the Mac version have proven controversial because Apple removed many power features to make Pages' file format and features identical across all three versions.

If, like most SmallLaw subscribers, you use a Windows PC, iPad, and iPhone, the Mac controversy is irrelevant. More importantly, the new iOS version has gained many new features (the opposite of what happened to the Mac version). This parity across versions is not surprising considering that Apple makes much more money selling iPads and iPhones then it does selling Macs.

New Text Formatting Bar

You can now make common formatting changes much more quickly thanks to the new text formatting bar that appears just above the on-screen keyboard (or on the bottom of the screen when using an external keyboard). Selections such as bold, italics, underline, line justification, and indent are now just a tap away. The formatting bar also includes a tab button at the far left, which is useful when using the on-screen keyboard as it lacks a tab button. Also, a plus sign at the far right of the formatting bar makes it easy to add a page, line or column break, or insert a footnote or a comment.

Speaking of comments, Pages finally lets you see, edit, and create comments in an document. In prior versions of Pages, not only did the app not show comments, it actually deleted all comments in the document.

iCloud Document Collaboration

Apple's new iWork for iCloud service makes Pages for iPad more powerful in two important ways.

First, you can now access and edit any of your Pages documents from a web browser on a computer. This is not much of an advantage if you use a Mac because you'll likely prefer using the Mac version of Pages. But if, like me, you use a PC in your office, you can now log into iCloud to use the excellent (and free) web version of Pages, which has almost complete feature parity with the iOS and Mac versions of Pages.

For example, you can start a document on your iPad, continue to work on it using Pages for iCloud on your PC, and then finish it on your iPad. This parity across devices and platforms works well. The Pages app on my iPad is much more useful now that I can easily use a version of Pages on my PC. iWork for iCloud also enables me to make quick edits to Pages documents using my iPhone.

Second, you can now share a Pages document with someone else. Furthermore, both of you can view and edit the document at the same time. Pages includes an option to email a link to your document. The recipient clicks on the link to launch Pages for iCloud on their computer (PC or Mac) and display the document you shared. This works even if the recipient doesn't have an iCloud account or any Apple hardware. Changes that you make on your iPad and changes that the other person makes using Pages for iCloud are synced back and forth — but not instantaneously. In my testing, it take about 20-30 seconds for you to see the other person's changes.

For example, if you are in a room (or on the phone on opposite sides of the planet) negotiating the terms of a contract with opposing counsel, you can share a document created in Pages with opposing counsel, and then go back and forth making changes on the final wording. If you make contradictory edits at the same time, the owner of the document (the person who shares it) will get to decide whose edits to keep; the other party sees an alert that the document owner is resolving a conflict.

Note that if multiple people access a document using Pages for iCloud on multiple computers, they can actually see every edit as it occurs in realtime — the cursor changes color to indicate who is making which changes. This is a useful feature that I hope to one day see in Pages for iPad. Considering that the Apple engineers decided to implement this feature in Pages for iCloud, and considering that Apple is trying to maintain feature parity across all versions of Pages (going so far as to remove features from Pages for Mac), it seems reasonable to suspect that Apple is working on this feature for a future update to Pages.

Document Fidelity With Microsoft Word

Although Pages includes a Change Tracking feature for creating redline edits to a Word document, when you convert a document from Word to Pages format (to edit it on your iPad) and then from Pages to Word (to continue to work with it on a computer), some formatting and other file attributes get lost in the process.

Pages 2.0 does a better job maintaining document fidelity. For example, as noted above, comments are now preserved. But I still see some glitches after a roundtrip. You can use Pages to create redline edits and indicate to another attorney which changes you want to make in a Word document, but I recommend that the other attorney then make those edits by hand to their original Word document and not simply accept all of your edits in a document converted to Word by Pages. Indeed, when I use Pages to suggest redline edits to someone else, I send back a PDF version showing my edits.

Similarly, if you don't want to create redline edits but you instead just want to directly edit a Word document and then send someone else the final document in Word format (or send the document back to your computer in Word format), you cannot always depend upon the formatting remaining exactly the same. It is often close enough not to matter, but not always. For better document fidelity, I recommend that you use Documents to Go for iPad, which unfortunately cannot create redline edits and lacks some other features that Pages has.

Document fidelity is the main reason I look forward to the day when Microsoft releases a version of Word for the iPad. In my tests so far, the Microsoft Office Mobile app for the iPhone does an excellent job preserving document attributes. This bodes well for the forthcoming iPad app. Read my recent review for more details. See Jeff Richardson, Review of Microsoft Office Mobile (Word for iPhone), SmallLaw (July 3, 2013).

TechnoScore

Pages includes many features that I purposefully have not discussed — such as the ability to insert graphics to create a beautiful newsletter or flyer — because despite being cool, most attorneys are unlikely to use them (though your marketing department might). Indeed, my top priority for an iPad word processor is to create and work with Microsoft Word files, so it is from that perspective that I provide a TechnoScore for Pages.

In my opinion, no iPad app currently does a good enough job with Word documents to deserve an A+ or even an A, so I respectfully disagree with Brett Burney who gave Documents to Go and Office2 HD an A+ and Quickoffice Pro HD an A in his review last year. Indeed, Quickoffice does not even show footnotes in a document, making it a non-starter for many lawyers. See Brett Burney, The Best iPad App for Word Processing in Microsoft Formats, SmallLaw (October 9, 2012).

Nevertheless, with the updates in version 2.0, Pages deserves an A–. The app would get an A if it included the document fidelity of Documents to Go (although Pages has many other advantages over Documents to Go such as editable footnotes and comments, and redlining) or of Microsoft Office Mobile for iPhone (which in its current state has only a fraction of the features of Pages).

Overall, Pages 2.0 is as good as it currently gets for viewing and working with Word files on an iPad. I look forward to seeing how it stacks up against the version of Word that Microsoft eventually offers for the iPad — hopefully in 2014.

Pages: A- (4.5/5.0)
www.apple.com/ios/pages/

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive SmallLaw
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Originally published on October 15, 2013 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

They say that beauty is only skin deep, but that's not true of iOS 7. It may have a new look, but it also has a deep set of useful features. Many of the best new features are difficult to find so iOS expert and litigator Jeff Richardson has unearthed them for you in this issue of SmallLaw. You'll learn about Siri's new email functionality, how to transfer documents and open Safari tabs from one iOS device to another, why you no longer need a flashlight app, and much more. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for a review of a $20 practice management app for iPads and Android tablets.

BENEATH THE SURFACE: HELPFUL BUT HIDDEN IOS 7 FEATURES

Last month, Apple released iOS 7, the new operating system for iPads and iPhones. It's not only the most significant update ever to iOS, but also the most rapidly adopted. Just today, Fortune reported that approximately 71% of active iOS devices are already running iOS 7 despite launching just 27 days ago.

It's likely that you're among those using iOS 7 on your iPad and/or iPhone or plan to start using it soon when you buy a new device. This new operating system has a wealth of new features if you know where to find them. Because you may not have time to poke around, I've poked for you. In this issue of SmallLaw, I discuss helpful but hidden iOS 7 features.

Control Center

No matter what you're doing on your iOS device, you can swipe up from the bottom of a screen to reveal the new Control Center. From here, you can turn on or off Airplane mode, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb. You can also launch the Clock and Camera apps, change volume or brightness, and control the audio of anything playing. You can trigger AirPlay to send audio and/or video from your iPad to external speakers or an Apple TV. There's also a flashlight if you're using an iPhone with a flash.

In the iPad's Settings app under "General," you can control whether the side switch on the iPad locks the screen rotation or mutes the iPad. Whichever function you assign to the physical switch, the other function will be assigned to a button in Control Center.

Finally, on recent iPads and iPhones you can turn on/off and configure AirDrop to send files to other iPad or iPhone users in your vicinity — a quick and easy way to share a document or a photograph with a colleague. AirDrop works with the fourth generation iPad and later, the first generation iPad mini and later, the iPhone 5 and later, and the fifth generation iPod touch and later.

In the Settings app, you can decide whether or not to enable access to Control Center from your iPad's lock screen. It's convenient to turn this on, but keep in mind that when enabled anyone can pick up your device and without even entering your password swipe up to reveal and use Control Center.

Because many apps have controls at the bottom, you can also configure Control Center to function only in Springboard and not in apps. (Springboard is the unofficial name commonly use to describe the home screen and and other screens listing all your apps and app folders.)

Siri and Email

Siri in iOS 7 is much more powerful and useful. The most notable improvement is that you can now use Siri to draft an email message. Summon Siri and say "Send an email to John about the meeting tomorrow." Siri will ask you which John (showing you a list of all of them in your address book). You can say which one such as "John Smith." Then Siri will address a message to John Smith with a subject line of "Meeting tomorrow" and then ask you what you want the email to say. Just dictate the message body, review it after Siri writes it for you, and then send it. The process may prove much faster than typing, especially on an iPhone or if you prefer dictation to typing.

If you're driving or otherwise unable to look at the screen of your iPhone (or iPad), I love that you can also ask Siri to read your email such as your most recent unread messages from anyone, the last email from a specific person, etc. For example, you can tell Siri to "read my last email from Martin." After reading it to you, Siri will ask if you want to dictate a reply. You can also ask Siri to read a message about a subject. So if you're working on the "Johnson" case, you can ask Siri to read your most recent message about "Johnson" and Siri will read the most recent email message with "Johnson" in the subject line.

App Switching and Closing

If you double click on the home button, you'll see the last-used screen of all of the apps that you recently used, with the app icons under each screen. Simply swipe your finger to move through the screens and icons, and when you find one that you want to launch, tap once to make that app active. This visual approach makes it easier and faster to switch to another app.

If you want to shut down an app, put your finger on its screen and swipe up. I know that lots of people think it helps their device run better to close apps. This isn't true except in rare situations such as when an app is acting strangely (hard resets can also cure such issues). However, if you're using three apps for a task (e.g., writing in a word processor, researching in a legal research app, and referencing PDF documents), it's easier to switch among these three apps if no other apps are running.

By the way, iOS 7 retains the shortcut of using your hand to switch among apps on an iPad. Simply place four or five fingers on the screen and then swipe to the left to bring you directly to the screen of the app you were last using (and continue to swipe left or right to see other apps). This is the iPad equivalent of Alt-Tab on Windows or Command-Tab on the Mac, and is perhaps the fastest way to switch among apps.

iCloud Tabs

iOS 6 introduced iCloud Tabs in Safari, the problem being that few iPhone users knew about it because it often required a few taps back to your root list of bookmarks to find it on the iPhone. On the iPad, it has always resided in the bar at the top.

I suspect more people will use iCloud Tabs in iOS 7 because it's now more accessible on the iPhone. Simply tap the Tabs icon at the bottom of Safari to reveal all tabbed web pages on your iPhone. Then scroll up to reveal iCloud Tabs — all the open web pages on your other iOS devices using the same iCloud account.

iCloud tabs are helpful in two common scenarios. If you open a web page on your iPhone such as a lengthy article, you'll probably find it easier to read it on the larger screen of an iPad. Just leave it open in Safari on your iPhone (you can turn off the screen and even close Safari) and then access that same web page using iCloud Tabs on your iPad. Conversely, if you start reading a web page on your iPad but then have to leave your home or office and only want to take your iPhone, leave the tab open in Safari on your iPad and then load that web page on your iPhone.

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, this newsletter provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on August 30 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

You've heard stories about hapless iPhone owners who thought their data was backed up despite never syncing their iPhone with their computer or iCloud. Before you snicker, we bet you haven't tapped the full potential of your iOS devices. In this issue of SmallLaw, lawyer and iOS expert Jeff Richardson provides little-known but powerful tips for Apple's Contacts, Reminders, and Notes apps. He also explains how you can use your iPhone to create and manage your usernames and passwords, and enter them into any web browser. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for a buyer's guide to the best iPad keyboards.

IPHONE AND IPAD INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TIPS

Each day of law practice and life inundates us with small bits of information that we need to recall for later reference, but before you can remember one tidbit the next item shows up, followed by another one. Pick up your laundry tomorrow night. Buy travel-sized shaving cream at the pharmacy. Remember this phone number, this password, this person's name, etc. The information never seems to end.

Fortunately, your iPhone is always nearby, and excels at remembering all of the nitty, gritty details so that you don't need to burden yourself with memorization. In this issue of SmallLaw, I'll discuss apps and strategies to help you control this flood of information.

Information About People

You probably use the Contacts app to store a person's name, company name, email address, phone number, and other basic information. But if you tap the Edit button when viewing a contact and then choose Add Field, you will set that you can add many other useful fields.

For example, you can add a Phonetic First or Last Name to remember how to pronounce a person's name and avoid future embarrassment. You can also create a blank notes field with any kind of useful information about a person. I use the notes field to jot down the name and birth dates of children so that when I see someone again, I can remember that his son is "John" and is six years old. You might want to note interests, hobbies, favorite sports teams, etc.

Another field enables you to add a birthday to a contact, after which an entry will appear in Calendar with a small gift icon to remind you. Better yet, the powerful app Fantastical (which I use far more often than the built-in Calendar app) will calculate the math and display that it's Joe's 44th birthday.

The Reminders App and Siri

The iPhone's built-in Reminders app can remind you about specific tasks at a certain time or place. Launch the Reminders app, tap an empty line, jot down a few words about your task (like "Pick up hot dogs for Labor Day barbecue"), and then tap the arrow at the end of the line to remind you at a specific time (Saturday at 5 pm) or at a specific place (such as when you leave your office or when you arrive at a shopping center).

That's a great help, but what makes the Reminders app incredibly useful is the ability to use Siri to create reminders. You can dictate a reminder far faster than you can create one with your fingers. Activate Siri and simply talk to your iPhone. Say "Remind me to call Steve when I get to the office." Siri will ask which Steve, showing you a list of all of your contacts named Steve. Then whenever you next arrive at your office, Siri will remind you to place the call.

You can also tell Siri to "Remind me to go to the bank when I leave home" or "Remind me to start preparing for the Smith meeting at 2:30 on Thursday." All of this works a lot better than jotting down a reminder on cocktail napkin that you forget in your pants pocket, only to be seen again in a different form after going through the washing machine.

You can create different lists in the Reminders app. I recommend that you create one called "Grocery List." That way, in the future, you can simply tell Siri "Add milk to my grocery list." When you get to the store, look at the Grocery List in Reminders to see everything you wanted to remember to buy, including the items you haven't thought about since last Tuesday. You can also create date-specific lists. Tap on a specific date on the calendar in the Reminders app (e.g., Labor Day), and then add your tasks for that day.

All of the above also works on the iPad 3 or later and the iPad mini. In fact, if you have both an iPad and an iPhone, Reminders can keep your two devices in sync via Apple's free iCloud service.

The Notes App and Siri

The built-in Notes app is a simple but effective place to jot down quick notes on any topic that you can imagine. Like Reminders, it's much more powerful when you use Siri. Tell your iPhone or iPad, "Note that Suzie is arriving on Delta flight 456" and Siri will automatically create a new item in the Notes app with that text. Then you no longer need to worry about memorizing that flight number.

Usernames and Passwords

We all struggle to remember the endless usernames and passwords associated with our increasingly digital lives. A horrible "solution" is to use the same password everywhere; you don't want a hacker to gain access to one of your accounts and suddenly have access to all of them.

Rather than place sensitive passwords in the Notes app that any who picks up your iPhone can access, I recommend purchasing one of the many dedicated password apps such as LastPass, mSecure, or my favorite 1Password.

1Password remembers all of my passwords, includes a built-in web browser that can access a web site and enter my username and password automatically, and securely syncs with the web browsers on both my PC and Mac so that with a simple keystroke I can enter (or save) a password for every web site on any computer, iPad, and iPhone of mine. The app can also create complex, secure passwords that are impossible to guess and impervious to so-called dictionary attacks because they don't consist of English words. However, you never have to worry about memorizing or typing these long passwords because 1Password software handles that for you.

1Password can store more than just passwords. It has forms for remembering social security numbers, credit cards, software licenses, etc. I also love the secure notes feature because it provides a place to jot down private information protected under the lock and key of the 1Password app.

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, this newsletter provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on November 11, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Once upon a time, the only hurricanes in Manhattan were served in bars. Not anymore. In this issue of BigLaw, large firm partner and iPhone for lawyers expert Jeff Richardson provides invaluable disaster planning tips for your smartphone (with some special tips for iPhones). As a resident of New Orleans, Jeff has far more experience than the average lawyer so listen up and stay charged up and in charge when disaster strikes. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for an analysis of law firm leaders.

SMARTPHONE TIPS FOR LENGTHY POWER OUTAGES

On August 29, 2012, the seven year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the power went out at my home in New Orleans and remained off for four days as a result of Hurricane Isaac. Recently, many homes and businesses in the tristate area lost power for even longer as a result of Hurricane Sandy, including TechnoLawyer's office in TriBeca and many law firms. See Liz Kurtz, A Midsize Law Firm Battles Super Storm Sandy at the Southern Tip of Manhattan, BigLaw (November 6, 2012).

If you work for a large law firm, you likely represent clients located in other parts of the country or the world. I hope that your clients are sympathetic to your problems during a disaster, but you remain their attorney and should strive to protect their interests even during tough times. This means that you need to keep your lines of communications open and maintain the ability to get work done. Our large size is both an advantage and disadvantage regarding disaster planning as we have more resources than smaller firms but also more complex systems and more lawyers and staff. By the time an emergency arises, it's often too late to take precautions. Thus, law firms should plan for the next disaster now.

In this issue of BigLaw, I'll focus on one piece of the disaster planning puzzle — your smartphone (I use an iPhone but most of my tips also apply to Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, etc.). Your smartphone is likely your most important tool during a power outage. It's more portable and power efficient than an iPad. As long as the cell towers remain working (even during Hurricane Katrina, they worked to a certain degree), your smartphone gives you a way to communicate with colleagues, clients, other counsel, courts, etc. — and enables you to assess your own situation and plan for recovery.

1. Backup Power Options

An iPhone 5 and many modern smartphones usually last all day long, but when the power is out and you depend on your smartphone for communications with clients, friends, and family members plus news updates (plus maybe even occasional entertainment), you are going to drain your battery more quickly.

If you receive advance notice of a possible power outage (often the case with storms), plug your smartphone into an outlet so that you can at least start the power outage with a 100% charge.

I have heard of some people using a small gasoline-powered generator to recharge their smartphone and other devices. This seems like a bit much to me though I recommend keeping a smartphone charger in your car. Using your car to deliver enough charge to your smartphone so that you can make a critical phone call can help you in many situations, not just during power outages.

I also recommend purchasing a large external battery designed to work with your smartphone such as the iSound Portable Power Max 16,000 mAh Backup Battery (which I reviewed last month on iPhone J.D.) or the Just Mobile Gum Max 10,400 mAh battery.

These batteries cost around $100 or so and can completely recharge a smartphone many times. This is valuable during an emergency, but is also handy when you are in that all-day meeting without easy access to a power outlet and you want to keep your iPad or smartphone charged.

Also, remember that you can use any laptop as a large external battery to charge your smartphone through its USB port.

2. Minimize Radio Use During an Outage

Once the lights go out, even if you know that you have a recharging option, you will still want to be efficient when you use your smartphone. First, turn down your brightness to the lowest acceptable level to slow battery drain. With the lights out, it's not like you need much brightness anyway.

Second, turn off your Bluetooth and WiFi radios and Location Services (on an iPhone you'll find these in the Settings app) so that your smartphone doesn't waste power with those connections.

Third, considering keeping your smartphone in Airplane Mode when not using it. Turn that mode off to receive new email and to check news updates, and then turn it back on when you finish. You won't get instant notification of new text messages nor will you receive phone calls as they come in, but you will maximize your battery life if you stay in Airplane Mode part of the time.

3. How to Stay Informed and in Touch

Although you can get a lot of information during a power outage by accessing web sites of local news organizations, you'll get better and more timely information using Twitter. If you don't already have a Twitter account, set one up now so that you can access it during an emergency. You need never post anything to Twitter to derive enormous benefit from it.

During Hurricane Isaac, Twitter was my best source for the most up-to-date information on storm activity, power restoration, restaurants, and stores that were open, and streets to avoid. I followed the Twitter accounts of local newspapers, the news desks of local TV stations, and the official emergency preparedness account for the City of New Orleans.

During the storm I noticed retweets from individuals who were doing a great job sharing information, such as one local politician who decided to drive around and constantly update what was open or closed and provide block-by-block updates of power restoration. When you find those people, follow them on Twitter. Tweetbot (iPhone only) is my favorite Twitter app, but the free app from Twitter will get the job done on virtually any device.

To stay in touch with people, text messaging is often more reliable and power efficient than calling. Many home phones will not work without power, and many cell phones are turned off to save power. If your text message does not go through using Apple's iMessage (messages in blue), you'll get an error message (a red exclamation point). Tap your message to resend it using your cellular provider (messages in green). If you don't have text messages on your data plan you'll have to pay a small amount for each message (about 25 cents each).

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive BigLaw
Large and midsize law firms have achieved unprecedented success yet they still have tremendous growth potential. Written by insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, BigLaw unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology, and features detailed product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. BigLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to insightful articles (and podcasts and videos) about large and midsize law firms, as well as notable press releases issued by the world's largest law firms. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on June 5, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

According to Law Firm Mobile, only 19% of AmLaw 200 law firms have mobile-friendly web sites. Most of your clients now have smartphones so it's time to get started on a mobile web site. Fortunately, iPhone for lawyers expert Jeff Richardson is a partner at Adams and Reese, one of the 19% with a mobile web site. In this issue of BigLaw, Jeff offers five tips based on his firm's experience creating its mobile web site. His tips encompass design, content, and new technologies such as media queries. As an added bonus, Jeff also discusses whether your firm also needs a smartphone app in addition to a mobile web site. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for an article that analyzes several prominent law firms, all of which explain why they're not the next Dewey.

FIVE TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR LAW FIRM'S MOBILE WEB SITE

In 1995, I was one of the attorneys at my law firm responsible for creating our first web site. Few large law firms even had web sites. Netscape Navigator 1.0, the first commercial web browser, was just a few months old at the time so these were early days. However, we knew then that the Internet was here to stay so we wanted to make it easy for current and potential clients using this new medium to learn about our firm and its attorneys.

We wanted our web site accessible to all, so we made sure that the main page would look good on a VGA monitor with dimensions of 640 x 480 pixels. (By comparison, today a typical 24 inch display has 1920 x 1200 pixels.) We also included a link to a text-only version of the web site since some of our clients were using used text-only web browsers like Lynx. Even those with Netscape Navigator might prefer fast text versus images that took time to download over slow dialup connections.

Today, all large law firms have a web site, most of which are designed to take advantage of a large monitor and which feature graphics, photos, videos, and other rich media. Meanwhile, many clients use devices such as iPhones or iPads that have smaller screens and cannot handle some of the technologies such as Flash used on "modern" web sites.

The solution to this changing behavior is to create a mobile version of your web site. Just as most large firms didn't have a web site at all in 1995, most large law firms today lack a mobile web site. Law Firm Mobile looked at AmLaw 200 web sites a few months ago, and found that only 37 (19%) had a version formatted for mobile devices.

Accessibility remains central to our firm's philosophy about our web site. Accordingly, we created a mobile version of our web site in 2011. Based on that experience and what I've seen elsewhere, this issue of BigLaw contains five tips for making your law firm web site mobile-friendly.

1. Small but Well-Designed

Obviously, you want a professional-looking layout that fits a small smartphone screen. The iPhone 3GS (like earlier iPhone models) has a 480 x 320 pixel screen. That is a good target size.

More current smartphones such as the iPhone 4S have larger pixel ratios (e.g., 960 x 640), but rather than display more information they display the same information at a higher pixel density (the iPhone's retina display has 326 pixels per inch). Therefore, a mobile site designed with 480 x 320 pixels as a baseline will look good on more modern smartphones too.

One caveat however. Make sure your graphic designer understands how to prep photos and other graphics so that they will look sharp rather than fuzzy on smartphones that have a high pixel density.

Using the free Wayback Machine, you can see old versions of many web sites, including law firm web sites created in the 1990s. Many of the same design philosophies used to create web sites over 15 years ago are once again useful today when designing a version of your law firm web site that looks great on a mobile device (except for the graphics as noted above).

2. Keep It Simple and Make Key Information Easily Accessible

Clients typically won't access your web site from an iPhone to learn everything about your firm. Focus on the key items they will likely want to find on the go, especially attorney profiles with phone numbers and email addresses plus the addresses of each of your firm's locations.

Clients meeting a lawyer for the first time may use a mobile device to see what they look like, so include a photograph with each bio that either scales without getting blurry when zoomed (see above) or links to a larger version.

The home page of your mobile web site should contain obvious links to these key items. If you want to also include news, practice areas, etc. that's fine but don't let it get in the way of the simple information people are most likely to seek from a mobile device.

3. Keep the Information Updated, Preferably Automatically

Ideally, you want to use the same database (content management system) so that as information changes on your main web site, it changes on the mobile site at the same time.

4. Link to the Full Website and Don't Use Plugins

Sometimes a client might want to access the full version of your web site even on a small mobile device. Give the client the option to click a link to view the full web site.

Also, if you can avoid the use of Adobe Flash and other plugins that don't work on mobile devices, you should do so. If not, provide an alternative way to see the same information.

For example, have you ever tried to access a restaurant web site from your iPhone, only to discover the that web site is created entirely in Adobe Flash? This is frustrating when you want to see a menu or make a reservation — so much so that you might just pick a different restaurant. Don't frustrate existing or prospective clients.

5. Better Yet, Use Media Queries

The previous section discusses the importance of enabling people to access your entire site. The mobile web design world evolves fast. While too late for our firm, you should explore a new technology called media queries or responsive web design, which enables you to create a single web site that automatically adjusts depending on the width of the web browser.

In other words, you don't create a separate mobile site, but instead different styles for different widths (typically 3-5 styles). The advantage is that the URL of each page on your site is the same so if someone bookmarks a page on their iPhone and then views it on their PC later they will not see the mobile version but the full site. The Boston Globe uses media queries. You can find many examples on a site aptly named Media Queries.

For further reading on this topic:

Kayla Knight, Responsive Web Design: What It Is and How To Use It, Smashing Magazine, January 12, 2011

Google, Responsive Design: Harnessing the Power of Media Queries, April 30, 2012

Ethan Marcotte, Responsive Web Design (2011)

What About an App?

Apple loves to tell us that "there's an app for that," but your law firm probably doesn't need an app. Law Firm Mobile recently reported that only 16 of the AmLaw 200 firms have mobile apps. Nobody loves iPhone apps more than me, but I see little need to increase that number.

Developing a quality app and keeping it updated requires time and money. So will your mobile web site. You need to answer the question of why an existing or potential client would bother to download your law firm app instead of just using your mobile web site. One possible answer is to access information on a plane or elsewhere without Internet access, but how common a use case is that? Also, creating an app that works offline increases its costs.

If you must have an app, consider offering something different from your web site that a client would find useful. For example, Latham & Watkins produced three free "The Book of Jargon" apps that include definitions of business terms used in European capital markets and bank finance, project finance, and corporate and bank finance. Read my review on iPhone J.D.

These apps are useful so clients have a reason to download them, plus they demonstrate to potential clients that the firm understands these areas of law.

How to Receive BigLaw
Large and midsize law firms have achieved unprecedented success yet they still have tremendous growth potential. Written by insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, BigLaw unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology, and features detailed product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. BigLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to insightful articles (and podcasts and videos) about large and midsize law firms, as well as notable press releases issued by the world's largest law firms. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 14, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

At today's Goldman Sachs Technology Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts that he uses his iPad for 80-90% of his work. "I strongly believe that the tablet market will surpass the unit sales of the PC market," added Cook. Good thing we recruited Jeff Richardson of iPhone J.D., a web site for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad. No large firm lawyer and probably no lawyer period has reviewed as many apps as Jeff. In today's issue of BigLaw, Jeff recommends best-in-class apps for document editing, remote access, legal research, dictation, note taking, and more. He also explains how to deploy these apps to lawyers in your firm. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for an exclusive interview with the non-lawyer CEO now running Pepper Hamilton.

BEST-IN-CLASS IPAD AND IPHONE APPS AND TIPS FOR DEPLOYMENT

In my last BigLaw column — Should Large Law Firms Buy and Support iPads? — I recommended that law firms to designate one person in the IT Department as the iOS Guru to help attorneys configure their new devices and assist with troubleshooting.

I also encourage law firms to give their attorneys a list of recommended apps to install, which brings us to the subject of today's column. At iPhone J.D. I've reviewed dozens of apps over the years. Below you'll find my app recommendations in key categories, and tips for deploying them.

Viewing and Editing Documents

The built-in viewer for Microsoft Word documents is limited. On an iPhone, the text is quite small. If you pinch to expand text, you must then scroll back and forth to read the full line, which might have you reaching for some dramamine. Also, on both the iPhone and iPad, you don't see all formatting and, often critical for litigators, you don't see footnotes. Finally, you cannot see edits made in the track changes mode.

Currently, the best solution is the $9.99 Documents to Go app. It zooms text well, preserves most formatting, displays footnotes, shows tracked changes, and enables you to edit documents. In addition to Word documents, the app also handles Excel files (edit and display) and PowerPoint files (display). The $16.99 Premium adds PowerPoint editing capabilities and access to cloud services such as Dropbox.

The iPhone and iPad cannot natively view WordPerfect (WPD) files, which many courts and attorneys use. The Corel WordPerfect Viewer displays these files. Unfortunately, it is not a universal app. There is one version for the iPhone ($4.99) and another for the iPad ($5.99).

For viewing, organizing, and editing PDF files, there are many options in the app store, but no app has all of the features of GoodReader ($4.99). And for those rare PDF files that cannot be handled by other apps, Adobe's own free Adobe Reader app is a valuable tool.

I mentioned PowerPoint files above. If you give presentations, you may (as I do) prefer Apple's Keynote app ($9.99) for creating presentations directly on your iPad. You'll need a VGA Adapter and HDMI adapter to connect to projectors and televisions respectively.

Remote Access

Some tasks simply require a PC, such as using vertical market software for which there is not yet an iOS app. For lawyers who leave their computer at the office and just rely on an iPad or iPhone, the free Citrix Receiver app works well if your office has a Citrix-enabled IT infrastructure.

For those who prefer to access their own computer instead of a generic Citrix environment, the free LogMeIn app works great. For $299 per year, your IT department can use LogMeIn Central to manage access.

Cloud services provide a convenient way to access documents while out of the office. With a free Dropbox account, you can store up to 2 GB of documents for free. Dropbox has an iOS app and also integrates with many other iOS app such as Documents to Go and GoodReader as noted above.

There are security implications beyond the scope of this article to keeping confidential documents on a third-party service like Dropbox, but for non-confidential documents such as pleadings or SEC filings in the public record, I consider Dropbox the best way to share files between a computer and an iPad or iPhone.

Legal Research

If your law firm subscribes to WestlawNext, you cannot beat the fantastic WestlawNext app for the iPad, which Thomson Reuters recently updated. The latest version supports folder sharing with colleagues and clients, and integration with your firm's client/matter numbers.

All attorneys can make use of the free Fastcase app for the iPad and iPhone, a convenient way to search for a case or a statute.

There are countless jurisdiction-specific apps that contain statutes, rules of civil procedure and evidence, local rules, etc. These apps typically contain the law within the app, so they don't require Internet access to work, which is important in a courtroom that does not have WiFi. You should determine the best apps for the jurisdictions in which your attorneys practice so that you can make specific recommendations when asked.

Litigators who need to calculate due dates will appreciate the easy-to-use DaysFrom Date Calculator ($0.99). For simple math calculations (the iPad doesn't include a calculator), I like Digits ($1.99).

Dictation

Siri on the iPhone 4S takes dictation, which is often the fastest and easiest way to create an email message. Presumably, Apple will soon add Siri to the iPad, but for now (and for those using older iPhones), the free Dragon Dictation app turns voice into text that you can send to Mail or paste into a document.

Note Taking

Taking handwritten notes on an iPad is not ideal for everyone because you cannot write on an iPad with a stylus as fast as you can take notes using a pen and a legal pad. Nevertheless, for those interested, several great note taking apps exist.

I don't have a personal favorite right now, but I recommend an app that has a zoomed-in box at the bottom in which you can write and have the text shrunk down for more words per page. Some of the best apps with this feature include Note Taker HD ($4.99), Notes Plus ($6.99), and Noteshelf ($4.99).

Deploying Apps to Your Users

Once you compile your list of recommended apps, you need to deploy them. To prevent confusion from similarly-named apps, I recommend using Apple's free Link Maker tool to create URLs that will initiate a download from the App Store. Create a list of apps that includes hyperlinks that attorneys can simply tap to launch the App Store and purchase the app.

If you want to purchase apps for your attorneys, Apple's Volume Purchasing Program enables you to purchase apps in bulk. You get a list of redemption codes that you forward to your firm's attorneys. Entering a code in the App Store causes the paid-for app to begin downloading, at no cost to the attorney. You can use the management interface to keep track of which codes are still available and see the purchase history.

Whichever approach you take, the attorneys in your firm can be more productive when someone is prepared to recommend and support specific iPad and iPhone apps.

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive BigLaw
Large and midsize law firms have achieved unprecedented success yet they still have tremendous growth potential. Written by insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, BigLaw unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology, and features detailed product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. BigLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to insightful articles (and podcasts and videos) about large and midsize law firms, as well as notable press releases issued by the world's largest law firms. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on July 3, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Travel is almost unavoidable when you work in a large law firm because of the global clients you represent, the jurisdictions in which they get sued, etc. As a large firm partner, Jeff Richardson feels your pain. In this issue of BigLaw, Jeff discusses the many features in iOS 6 — the next version of Apple's operating system for iPads and iPhones — that will make life on the road more productive and maybe even more enjoyable. Jeff discusses enhancements to the Mail, Maps, and Phone apps as well as a completely new app. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (subscribers only) for a firsthand account of the the process a general counsel created to choose new outside counsel.

IOS 6 ENHANCEMENTS FOR LARGE FIRM LAWYERS WHO TRAVEL

Fellow lawyers at large law firms frequently complain to me that their job requires them to travel across the country often for meetings, trials, depositions, etc. But one of the saving graces is that the iPhone and iPad are so helpful in these circumstances. My iPhone is useful in my office, but it's essential when I travel. Apparently, many of you agree. My article, Tips for Lawyers Who Fly With an iPad Instead of a Laptop, is thus far the top-ranked BigLaw article of 2012.

Apple recently demonstrated iOS 6, the next version of the operating system for iPhones and iPads due later this year.

iOS 6 will include over 200 new features. Many of these will have mass market appeal such as the ability to share Photo Streams among friends and Facebook integration. But iOS 6 will also enhance life on the road for large firm attorneys.

Email Improvements

Email is a great way to stay in touch with clients and colleagues, but after being tied up all day in a meeting or deposition, you face the daunting task of wading through dozens of new messages in your Inbox.

The Mail app in iOS 6 will make it easier to focus on the most important messages. First, you can identify certain contacts (such as key clients) as VIPs. When a message arrives from a VIP, your iPhone or iPad will provide a notification on the lock screen, similar to what happens when a text message arrives. VIP messages will also have a star next to them in the Inbox so that they stand out, plus Mail will have a VIP folder in which it will collect all these messages.

Similar to the VIP mail folder, iOS 6 includes a flagged mail folder which, like the similar folder in Outlook, contains only those messages you flag. Many lawyers use flags as a task manager.

iOS 6 also includes the ability to insert a photo or video after you start composing a message so you no longer need to start in the Photos app. That's nice, but I wish Apple would go one step further and let you insert documents into an email message from other apps such as GoodReader.

Currently (and apparently also in iOS 6), if you want to respond to an email message and attach a document, you need to first reply to the message, select and copy everything to the clipboard and then discard that message without sending it, open the app with the document to start a new email message with the document attached, enter the recipient's email address, paste the contents of your clipboard (the recipient's original message), and then write your reply. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it's not nearly as fast as it would be if Apple provided traditional email attachment functionality in Mail.

Frankly, I thought it was unlikely to see this change in iOS 6 because Apple traditionally keeps many of its own apps separate from third party apps under the guise of security, but Apple did announce that the new version of Apple's Maps app will integrate with third party apps that provide information on public transit and alternative methods of transportion (biking, walking, etc.) — a recognition that third party apps can complement Apple's built-in apps. As for Mail, my fingers are crossed for iOS 7.

Turn-By-Turn Navigation With Siri Integration

Speaking of the Maps app, Apple has ended its affiliation with Google. The new Maps app gains free turn-by-turn navigation in iOS 6, a feature Google's Android has offered for a while.

The Maps app will also integrate with Siri. If you find yourself in remote locations for a deposition you can ask Siri for directions to an address, gas station and restaurant recommendations along the route, and even channel your inner child by asking Siri "are we there yet" to find out how much longer it will take to arrive at your destination.

Your estimated time of arrival will be aided by the live traffic information in the new Maps app, collected not only from traditional traffic services but also by Apple tapping into real-time (anonymous) information from other iOS 6 devices. If the unlucky iPhone users on the road ahead of you are stuck in gridlock, their loss can be your gain as your iPhone recommends an alternate route.

A Smarter Telephone

When you're out of the office and your iPhone rings, sometimes you cannot talk because you are otherwise occupied with whatever it is that required you to travel.

In iOS 6, you can set your iPhone to not disturb you for a designated period of time or while in a geographic location. However, you can set rules so that your iPhone will ring for emergency calls (e.g., two successive calls from your spouse).

If you prefer to just decline calls instead, your iPhone can give you the option to reply with a preset text message such as "I'll call you later" or "I'm on my way." Better yet, you can tell your iPhone to remind you to return the call later, either at a different time (remind me in an hour) or in a different location (remind me when I leave the current location, when I get to my office, when I get home, etc.).

Boarding Passes and Shopping

Frequent fliers will appreciate the new Passbook app, which collects boarding passes in a central location. Better yet, when the iPhone senses your arrival at the airport, it will place an alert on the lock screen that you can simply swipe to display the boarding pass — a big improvement over current situation in which you must unlock the iPhone, find the airline app, and then navigate to the part of the app with your boarding pass. If your gate changes, Passbook will alert you and give you a new boarding pass with the gate change circled.

Passbook can perform similar tricks at other locations. For example, when the iPhone senses that you're in a Starbucks, it can instantly bring up your store card to make paying for your caffeine fix even easier. Or maybe even a well-deserved beer while waiting for your delayed flight to take you home. Here's to better traveling thanks to iOS 6!

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

How to Receive BigLaw
Given the fragmentation in the legal industry, the world's largest law firms have achieved unprecedented success for which they don't receive enough credit. Given the size of the global economy, these firms still have tremendous growth potential. Written by large firm insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, this newsletter unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology to help large law firms (and midsize firms with growth aspirations) succeed on an even grander scale. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 17, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Many people know Jeff Richardson as the award-winning blogger behind iPhone J.D, a web site for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad. However, few people realize he's a partner at an AmLaw 200 firm. We asked Jeff if he'd like to write a monthly column specifically for those in midsize and large firms. In today's issue of BigLaw, Jeff kicks off his new beat by tackling a question on the minds of many managing partners — should you buy an iPad for every lawyer in your firm, or at least support attorney-purchased iPads? Jeff's advice may surprise you. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (subscribers only) for a look inside a large firm spinoff that abandoned the billable hour among other time-honored traditions.

SHOULD LARGE LAW FIRMS BUY AND SUPPORT IPADS?

Some large law firms have received publicity for buying iPads for all of their attorneys. For example, as I reported on iPhone J.D. last year, Bassford Remele, a litigation law firm in Minneapolis, gave iPads to each of its 50 attorneys. Similarly, as reported here in BigLaw, Proskauer Rose made iPads available to its 700 lawyers. The list goes on — Holland & Knight gave iPads to all of its associates, while Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler gave its associates a $675 Apple gift card to cover the cost of an iPad. Should your law firm join this trend?

iPads Are Incredibly Useful Tools for Lawyers

iPad-related announcements generate buzz because the iPad is hottest gadget for lawyers today. For example, members of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) recently named the tablet the most exciting technology or trend in law firms today. And for now at least, "tablet" essentially means iPad. According to a survey conducted by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center in early 2011, 90% of attorneys who use a tablet use an iPad. Just because the iPad is buzzworthy doesn't mean it is a mere passing fad. In fact, according to at least one analyst, it potentially represents an inflection point in computer history.

Instead of carrying multiple, heavy binders to court with pleadings and cases, you can carry a thin and light iPad with every document saved as a searchable PDF file organized into folders using an app such as GoodReader (the best $4.99 that any attorney can spend on an app). It's easy and unobtrusive to carry that iPad to the podium or to the bench, an advantage over a laptop.

Similarly, an iPad is often more than sufficient for business travel because it can handle email (using the built-in Mail app), simple document editing (using a third party app such as the $9.99 Documents to Go app), and web access (using the built-in Safari app).

Admittedly, some tasks still require a computer such as a PC-only program for which there is not yet an iPad equivalent (e.g., some document management systems, client relationship management systems, sophisticated redlining software, etc.). However, even in these circumstances you can often use a remote access app on the iPad such as the free Citrix Receiver app or the free LogMeIn app). Indeed, any attorney with an iPad will probably want to take the iPad when traveling anyway, even if just for entertainment purposes such as reading an ebook, browsing a magazine, watching a movie, or conducting a videochat with a spouse and/or children.

Thus, the question is not whether to take an iPad or a laptop, but instead whether the extra cost, inconvenience, and weight of a laptop is worth it when the iPad will be along for the trip anyway.

Deciding Whether to Pay for iPads

Of course, just because a tool is useful doesn't mean that law firms need to pay for it. All large law firms pay for their attorneys' computers, which deprives your lawyers of choice, except perhaps for laptop versus desktop. Also, law firms typically don't allow the installation of unauthorized software such as games on firm-owned equipment.

As useful as an iPad is for work, it is also a personal device with undeniable entertainment value. Any attorney using an iPad will have a personal iTunes App Store account, making it easy to install third party apps. The iPad may have the ability to replace a laptop computer, but its personal nature it makes it similar to a smartphone.

One possibility is for your firm to let attorneys choose between a firm-purchased laptop, or a firm-purchased desktop plus a firm-purchased iPad. After all, a business-class laptop running Windows 7 costs about $1,500, while a similarly-configured desktop PC costs well under $1,000, a difference sufficient to pay for an iPad.

The problem with this strategy is that almost every attorney will experience situations in which they need a laptop when on the road or even just at home over the weekend. Remote access apps like Citrix and LogMeIn are powerful, but sometimes you need a larger screen and mouse to accomplish certain tasks. Indeed, new computer purchasing decisions often occur in the context of new associates who lack the experience to understand what they are giving up by not opting for a laptop.

Our Firm's (Current) iPad Policy

Admittedly, I have a clear bias here. As a New Orleans attorney who lived through Hurricane Katrina, and a member of a law firm with offices along the Gulf Coast, I place a strong emphasis on the ability of our lawyers to pick up their computer and continue being productive in another location with little prior notice.

But many large firms don't have as high a risk profile as ours, at least regarding natural disasters. If you already use desktop computers — perhaps because everyone uses a centrally-managed desktop environment such as one offered by Citrix — then the desktop plus iPad option may make more sense for you.

One size fits all doesn't work for solo practices let alone large, complex organizations like ours. Thus, I can't make a single recommendation as to whether we should all follow Proskauer Rose. Circumstances and firm cultures vary too much. The decisions that your firm has made regarding smartphones may offer the best model for your approach to iPads. Do you pay for devices, just pay monthly data and/or voice fees, etc.?

In my own firm (of about 300 attorneys), we have not purchased iPads for every attorney. We have not felt a need to do so because so many of them have already purchased one on their own, which eliminates problems with attorneys putting personal data on firm-owned equipment, and has the advantage of letting each attorney decide which model they want. For example, the main justification for a 64 GB or even 32 GB iPad is to store lots of personal movies, photographs, and graphics-intensive games. As for connectivity, some lawyers may want an iPad with AT&T or Verizon service whereas others may need only WiFi.

More Importantly, Embrace and Support iPads

While I don't have a one-size-fits-all policy on buying iPads, I do have one specific recommendation for every large law firm — actively support iPad use. Make at least one member of your IT staff an iPad professional with the ability to help new iPad owners get connected to email, contacts, and calendars. This person should also be ready to recommend and help troubleshoot problems with iPad apps.

Additionally, consider having this person (or an "expert attorney" in your firm) hold training sessions on how to effectively use in iPad in law practice. To this end, in next month's BigLaw column, I'll recommend the iPad apps that large law firms should support and encourage their lawyers to use.

iPads are already amazingly useful in the practice of law. By actively supporting iPad use, you can encourage and assist your attorneys with making the most of the iPad.

How to Receive BigLaw
Given the fragmentation in the legal industry, the world's largest law firms have achieved unprecedented success for which they don't receive enough credit. Given the size of the global economy, these firms still have tremendous growth potential. Written by large firm insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, this newsletter unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology to help large law firms (and midsize firms with growth aspirations) succeed on an even grander scale. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.