The Mac Lawyer : Ben Stevens : Using Macs In The Practice Of Law

Two years ago, I participated in an ABA Journal article featuring a Mac vs. PC debate to determine which OS was superior.  By all accounts, the Mac won hands down (no surprise).  This year, the Journal decided to feature a showdown between the iPhone and the Droid.  My good friend and technology guru, Finis Price, argued for the iPhone, while Ryan McKeen touted the Droid.

I'm proud to declare that once again, the Apple product prevailed.  While Ryan made a valiant attempt to defend an inferior product, it was a mismatch from the very beginning, as the iPhone is simply a better overall product.  As Finis stated in his closing argument, the iPhone "revolutionized the (smartphone) market" – a claim that no other product can truthfully make.  Kudos to both attorneys though for taking part in this debate.

Source:  "Droid v. iPhone – New Mobile Devices Give BlackBerry a Run for Lawyers' Money" by Ryan McKeen and Finis Price, published in the April 2010 ABA Journal.

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Episode 15 of MILO Chat Weekly, “Apple iPad Special – Part 1”, has been released.  On this episode, Victor Medina, Finis Price, and I (along with special guest Adam Greivell) discuss the Apple iPad shortly after its announcement.

Subscribe to this podcast using iTunes by clicking HERE.

Download the podcast directly by right-clicking and saving HERE.

Comments? Send them to milochat@miloweekly.com

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Now that I'm back from ABA TechShow and have had a little time to catch my breath, I thought I'd share my thoughts and reflections about this year's conference:

• The "Mac Track" was greatly expanded this year.  What began in 2008 as a Saturday morning only session has now grown to a full day of programming on Thursday.  I want to publicly thank Brett Burney for all of his hard work to make this a reality.  By all accounts, it was very well received by the attendees. I attended each of this year's sessions, and all of the speakers were outstanding, entertaining, and informative.  I believe that TechShow would benefit from expanding the "Mac Track" even more next year and including more in depth sessions and possibly at least one session devoted to the iPad.
• There seemed to be an unwarranted amount of skepticism regarding cloud computing (SaaS) at many of the sessions this year, even the ones supposedly devoted to that very topic.  The same old "concerns" were given, but they were not based necessarily in fact.  I have no doubt that cloud based options will continue to be useful and grow in popularity.  I find it somewhat amusing that people have no hesitation at all in using on-line banking features, but for some reason they believe that cloud options are still not secure enough for their client data.
• The iPhone was also repeatedly attacked and accused of not being secure, but less than two minutes later, the same panel was advocating using a Kindle to present items in Court.  Of course, the Kindle has no password protection or security features included whatsoever.  My security guru, Finis Price, believes that virtually all smartphones have similar security "risks", and I believe that the vast majority of them can be mitigated through the use of plain old common sense.
• TechShow as a whole would benefit from being more platform independent. The organizers should remember that not everyone uses Outlook, Word, or Windows, yet many of the sessions that were marketed toward a "general" audience tended to inordinately favor them.  Also, having more "how to" sessions, including step-by-step instructions and/or demonstrations would be beneficial, perhaps even taking place in smaller, more intimate settings.  For instance, how great would a session on making killer trial presentations using Keynote be?  Or maybe a Keynote vs. PowerPoint showdown?
• On a more positive note, it was great to have the first Mac-specific vendor at the TechShow Expo this year.  Marketcircle had a booth exhibiting their products, Daylite and Billings.  I had several attendees tell me that they found the information presented at their booth to be quite helpful and informative. The folks from Marketcircle told me that they were very pleased with the reception they received, and I hope they will exhibit again next year and bring other Mac vendors with them.
• Finally, one of my favorite parts of TechShow is the people.  There were new presenters this year, including my friend Finis Price (who did an outstanding job in all of his seminars and with his honest Twitter coverage).  It was great to make new friends and also catch up with old ones, such as Brett Burney; Adriana Linares; Ben Schorr; Larry and Ariel from Rocket Matter; Jack from Clio; Amin from Marketcircle; and many others.

All in all TechShow was a great success this year.  I truly appreciate the opportunity to give the presentations I gave, and I hope to be invited back in the future.  I invite my readers who attended TechShow to submit their thoughts about the conference using my comments section.  If you missed it this year, mark your calendars now for next year's show, which will be held April 11 - 13, 2011, in Chicago.

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As my readers know, I am an advocate for the use of technology to improve the practice of law and delivery of legal services to my clients. As a result, I am frequently asked to speak at legal technology seminars, and I'm pleased that I'll be in Chicago this week presenting at the annual ABA TechShow.  I will be giving two presentations this year: "Mac Software for the Law Office" with Finis Price and "iPhone Tips for Lawyers" with Jeff Richardson.  Thanks to the ABA for inviting me back for the third year in a row and also to my firm for allowing me time away from the office for this seminar.

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One of the questions that lawyers contemplating the switch from PC to Mac often ask is some variation of "Can I use the Mac on my existing PC network at my office" or "Can I access files on my PC server with my Mac?"  Of course, the answer is "yes" and My First Mac has published a step-by-step guide that shows how to network Macs and PCs.  You can access this guide by clicking here and get a glimpse of how much easier your life could be if you were using a Mac.

Source:  "How Do I Network My Mac and PC?" by Jeff Cyr, published at My First Mac.

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I posted earlier this week that I decided on the 64gb wi-fi iPad.  However, that may not be the best iPad for other attorneys.  Josh Barrett of Tablet Legal posted an excellent article giving its opinion as to which model of iPad is best for attorneys.

Mr. Barrett suggested that lawyers consider the following two questions when facing this decision:

1. Where will you typically use the device?  Is wi-fi easily available at those locations?
2. What will you be doing on your iPad – reading quick emails or heavy writing?

Spoiler – he ended up choosing the 32gb wi-fi model.  I believe that his insight will be helpful to other attorneys trying to decide which iPad is best for them.  His blog has become one of my new favorites, and I highly recommend his article.

Source: "Which Model of iPad is Best for Lawyers?" by Josh Barrett, published at Tablet Legal.

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Shortly after Steve Jobs' announcement, I knew without a doubt that I was getting an iPad.  The question though was just which one.  For weeks, I agonized over whether to go with the 3g model or wi-fi only, and I vacillated many times.  In the end, I opted for the 64gb wi-fi only model, and I am confident that I made the right decision – at least the right one for me. 

Initially, I wanted the wi-fi model simply because it was available 30 days sooner than the 3g model.  However, the more I thought about it, that became less of a factor for me.  You see, I've had a Verizon wireless 3g USB card for several years that I use with my MacBook Pro when I am away from my office or my home.  It costs me approximately $60 per month, and it provides fast speed with good coverage.  Of course, the iPad's data plan will be provided by AT&T and will cost $30 per month.

I began to realize that even with the 3g iPad, I would still need to have portable 3g access for my MacBook Pro.  Therefore, did it make sense pay $30 per month for the iPad data plan in addition to the $60 I would continue paying Verizon?  I think not.  I then realized that the Verizon MiFi 2200 would be the perfect solution for my situation.  The MiFi provides a wireless 3g hub for up to five wi-fi devices, which could include both my iPad and MacBook Pro, and that it could do so while measuring only 3.5" x 2.5" and weighing 2 oz.

Is this the perfect solution for everyone?  Well, Verizon certainly seems to think so, as seen here.  If someone were to only need 3g access occasionally and that person had no other devices to connect too, then perhaps the 3g iPad would make sense.  Otherwise, I believe that my solution is the way to go.

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It should be no surprise that Apple was voted first in Fortune's annual list of the most admired businesses. It may be surprising that it won by the highest victory margin ever! 

This was Apple's third win in a row, and experts say that the reason for the admiration is said to be "fierce" consumer loyalty, and continually innovative products.  So apparently it's not just "fanboys" who think a lot of Apple and its amazing products!

Source: "Apple wins Fortune's Most Admired Company for 2010" published at MacNN.

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Did you know that you can download a free pdf version of the Federal Rules of Evidence 2010 from the Federal Evidence Review website? This pdf gives you a number of benefits including:

• Fully searchable text using the Acrobat Reader Search tool;
• Hyperlink (jump links) on the Index page to take you directly to a specific rule;
• Links to online versions of the FRE; and
• Link to the FRE Advisory Committee Notes online.

You can download your free copy by clicking here.  Of course, if you save the link you should be able to get updates as they are made to the document. 

Source:  "Get your FREE PDF of the Federal Rules of Evidence 2010" by Nerino Petro, published at his Compujurist blog.

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One question that I am frequently asked is "What's the best word processing program for the Mac?"  Niki Black published an article last week giving her thoughts about Scrivener, which is described on its website as a "word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts." 

Niki wrote that she finds Scrivener to be an invaluable tool that helps make the process of writing and organizing the information she collects so much simpler and streamlined, and she explained how this might benefit attorneys.  For instance, each portion of a legal document could be treated as a “chapter,” which is simply a folder within the document that can have the supportive documentation (exhibits, cases, etc.) alongside and able to be opened with a click. The associated files could be text files, image files, websites, audio files, or even video files, and they can be linked, or associated, with different sections to be referenced more than once.

Of course, as my readers already know, I am a big fan of Pages (which I use in my practice) and I dislike Word (because I try to avoid all things Microsoft).  However, it sounds as though Scrivener could be useful in certain types of cases – particularly if an iPad compatible version becomes available.  If you're still undecided about which word processing program is best for you, you may want to check out Scrivener.

Source:  "Using Scrivener for Legal Writing" by Niki Black, published at Lawyerist.com.

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