A short list of six apps designed to make life easier for legal professionals.
It’s 2021 and technology has transformed the legal landscape. In particular, apps for phones and tablets are streamlining old practices and boosting productivity for law firms worldwide. E-Typist’s favorites are also some of the easiest to use, so whether you’re tech-savvy or technophobic, give these a shot in 2021.
1. Fastcase (free, with paid upgrade available)
Fastcase is a mobile law library that makes legal research easier and more intuitive. Its impressive search algorithm pulls relevant state and federal cases quickly and accurately right to your phone. A citation checker also shows whether a case or statute has been overruled, modified, reversed or repealed.
Fastcase’s legal library is free, but there is a subscription upgrade for additional features. (Pro-tip: state bar associations often offer the paid-version free of charge to members or heavily discounted).
2. Evernote (free, with paid upgrade available)
Evernote is a notetaking and archiving app. In particular, its Web Clipper feature has become popular with legal professionals for saving and organizing legal research. Attorneys can archive articles and pages on the go, directly to Evernote, to create a legal research library accessible on any device.
While many attorneys get by with Evernote’s free version, upgrading to paid allows for more storage space and the ability to sync to unlimited devices (the free version is limited to two).
3. MindMeister (subscription required)
MindMeister helps users visualize, share and present thoughts by creating mind maps. These hierarchical diagrams provide a birds-eye view of information and facts, helping attorneys make sense of complex cases. As attorneys build their case, MindMeister also makes it easy to share and collaborate with other legal professionals.
MindMeister is not free, but at $5 per month, its benefits easily pay for itself.
4. Voice Memos (free for iOS Users)
Voice Memos does exactly what its namesake suggests: Wherever you are, you can create voice memos to save and share. While this app has long been native to Apple devices, it remains the king for its simplicity and functionality. And, of course, the fact that it’s free.
5. Good Reader (purchase required)
Good Reader has become the most ubiquitous app amongst legal professionals for converting, editing and annotating PDF files. Good Reader is also famous for viewing various file formats on any device, including TXT, DOC, PPT, XLS, HTML, audio and video. With a simple interface, Good Reader’s success stems from its ease of use, which cannot be said for all file viewers (looking at you, Acrobat).
While Good Reader isn’t free, the app provides an excellent value for a $5.99 download.
6. Slack (free, with paid upgrades available)
E-Typist has already espoused the incredible communication tool that is Slack. A virtual office, Slack allows users to send direct messages and collaborate in real-time. Create dedicated channels to optimize project management, connect with team members, and push projects forward. Slack also allows law firms without a brick-and-mortar office to streamline workflow remotely.
The free version of Slack on its own is powerful, but attorneys looking for additional features can also select paid upgrades that scale to the size of your operation.
Closing thoughts.
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