10+ essential iOS apps for lawyers and legal professionals
Photo by Bram Naus on Unsplash
While we wait for iPhones to become your lawyer, most lawyers are already using Apple iPhones for their work, according to the American Bar Association (ABA). This has created a booming market in iPhone apps for the profession, which is spending more and more on technology.
Laws and research
Apps for legal research are certainly one of the booming categories of iPhone apps for lawyers. What’s available ranges from fee-based to free solutions, but in each case these apps make it much easier for those in the legal profession to research legal precedent when developing a case. Most of the following apps require some form of subscription to access their features.
Black’s Law Dictionary
Black’s Law Dictionary, Get the app.
This might be an essential for anyone in the legal profession. The dictionary provides information concerning tens of thousands of legal terms to help legal pros stay on top of even the most obscure points of law.
Fastcase
www.fastcase.com. Get the app
Fastcase is a free legal research app that puts the entire U.S. law library inside your iPhone. It contains cases and statutes from all 50 states and from the federal government and aims to deliver results fast. You can even use this app in the courtroom for last minute research, and the search tool also shows how popular particular case citations have been in terms of being cited in other cases.
https://youtu.be/8vzqncXR-cg
Westlaw
Introduced in 2019, Westlaw Edge is an intelligent legal research platform that provides legal professionals with fast answers and insights. The platform also integrates litigation analytics and a citator and is seeing wide use across multiple sectors of the profession.
Lawstack
Another take on legal reference tools, LawStack claims to be the best legal reference tool on the App Store. I’m not in a position to properly test the claim, but feedback suggests fast searches and an extensive collection of legal resources are all made available in this app. “Statutes, regulations, and rules. Current, downloadable, and self-contained on your iPhone or iPad,” the company says.
Case and trial management
Enabling legal professionals to research cases on the move without needing to tote huge law books from place to place is obviously of enormous benefit, but the bigger business of running a legal firm is also seeing some return on the digital dividend. The following apps show this to be the case.
https://youtu.be/CfZ5R719CqM
TrialPad
Lit Software, Get the app
Designed specifically for the legal profession, this app lets lawyers access all their case documents on iPad. The app offers presentation tools to highlight sections of documents and text, create side-by-side document comparisons, edit and show video clips, add exhibit stickers to documents, search document text, and more. You can even project documents from your device using a video projector during the case.
MyCase
This is a fully-featured law practice management solution. As such it includes a bunch of time, work and case management tools and keeps case documents in sync with your office and across your other devices. It lets you receive credit card payments and provides secure messaging between you and your clients and team.
Clio Manage
Another take on cloud-based legal practise management, Clio Manage lets you access your files, cases and other data securely, with tools for time tracking, contacts and new case creation tools also included. The tool also includes highly effective reminders and scheduling utilities, and also features a secure messaging system.
Utilities for legal pros
Utilities is a broad description and could easily include apps such as Word, email apps or even the Logmein solution that lets you use your Mac remotely from your iOS device, but there are some solutions that have been custom built for the legal profession, including these two:
AgileLaw
Electronic exhibit technology from AgileLaw allows litigators to replace binders and binders of printed exhibits using only a laptop and tablets before, during, and after the deposition. The app is free, but you need an account.
Case Status Legal
Case Status provides your clients with real-time case-status updates through the app. This means clients can monitor what’s going on with their case but also means you don’t need to spend as much time providing updates. This app integrates with Clio Manage.
Even more apps:
ROSS by ROSS Intelligence, Inc.
This uses IBM Watson’s natural language processing tools to search through legal info, including citations, case excepts and legal briefs.
Docubot:
An online service that capture client questions to prepare a legal document that can be reviewed by an attorney.
Docket Alarm:
Winner of the Legaltech Product Innovation Judges’ Choice Award in 2019, Docket Alarm will search millions of legal documents and tracks cases.
Zero is an iPhone app that automates time-consuming administrative tasks for lawyers. It can automatically file emails for compliance purposes, protects against sending mail to the wrong people, captures billable time and more.
Have you come across other apps for lawyers? Do you develop them? Are you a legal professional using an app you think should be listed here? Let us know.
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