The Mac Lawyer Using Macs in Law Firms | Attorney Ben Stevens

How One Firm Implemented the iPad

By J. Benjamin Stevens on Posted in iPad

Following up on my post earlier this week about how some attorneys are using iPads in their practices, I received an email from one of my readers, Ron Elkins, explaining how his firm has done just that.  In fact, Ron has written an article (complete with screenshots) that explains how his office:

  • accesses its case management system
  • views all documents inside its system
  • uses GoodReader to access DropBox
  • accesses Court records, its state Code, & research in Safari
  • handles presentations in Keynote
  • dictates with Dragon Dictate

It’s always interesting to me to see "real world" implementations of technology that are so well-rounded.  I urge you to visit Mr. Elkins’ post and see for yourself how his office operates and then consider whether any of these processes would benefit your office.

Source:  "iPad Interface and Court Records" by Ron Elkins, published at the Digital Office Blog.

 

  • http://www.millard-law.com John

    I’d buy an ipad today if there was a comparable program to OneNote that would allow the use of a stylus to take notes and the ability to record audio at the same time. This would be perfect for lawyers, as it would truly be a digital legal pad that would also allow for audio recording while taking handwritten notes.
    What would really be great is to have an ipad version of Circus Ponies Notebook that would allow using a stylus to take handwritten notes, while simultaneously recording audio.

  • http://i.tuaw.com/2010/05/16/notable-ipad-apps/ John

    See tuaw.com for a new article on note-taking apps, including a combo note-taker/audio recorder. Typing instead of stylus; is handwriting that much easier than typing brief highlights for later audio retrieval?

  • Enthusiasm Curbed

    I find it quite exciting to see so many innovative online services emerge.
    However, it concerns me when an office technology solution utilizes a
    patchwork of software, technology, and services. If any one of these
    services is sold, discontinued, or ceases to exist, a time-consuming IT
    mess would ensue. Perhaps this is why many organizations, including law
    firms, shy away from being at the cutting edge of technology.

  • Gene

    I’m starting to implement this very system at the moment. I haven’t really been too happy with the dropbox app. It truncates my file names. Goodreader is a decent PDF reader but I find that it has a steep(er) learning curve and doesnt utilize the screen real estate to my satisfaction. I just downloaded ReaddleDocs and am very impressed. Does everything I need and is very user friendly. I also utilize iannotate as well. The iPad is allowing my small solo practice to go paperless.
    In re EC above: a patchwork of services is preferable IMHO. No such system is “closed” and the absence of any one is not fatal. If dropbox goes kaput, your files are secure and there are alternative services. Any one computer dies, you are backed up. I posit that the system described herein is more secure and stable than the traditional paper and files in a law office. A fire would only damage things. The data is always secure across many platforms.
    Just my $0.02

  • Ron Elkins

    Wow Ben all the traffic from your site and subsequently tuaw has shut us down! Time for more bandwidth.