They say that if you were to scour the Apple app store, you would find an app that would relate to every profession or past time on the planet.
The legal profession is no exception to this and finds itself very well represented and catered for with a wide range of legally themed applications for use in the office as well as in the courtroom. Tablet PC’s and iPads are now commonplace in the courtroom and all of these apps that are being utilised are making it easier for the professionals as in many cases they are not required to carry around heavy case files, everything they need is stored on the tablets.
Fastcase
Fastcase for the iPad is an app that allows you to access a vast law library while you are on the move. You can search though mountains of legal knowledge for free. The search for information is simple to perform and results are returned at incredible speed. Like many free app downloads there are extra applications for the app that can be activated by upgrading to the full service, but if all you need is a research facility the free option does exactly what you need it to do.
Penultimate
This app cleverly turns your tablet into a workable legal notepad, casting aside the need for paper and pen. Lawyers, barristers or any other legal professional can opt to use either stylus or their fingertips to make their notes, scribbling down points they need to remember. All of the notes that they make can be saved neatly as a PDF file or can be emailed to your chosen recipient in your own handwriting. Not just suitable for jotting down notes, Penultimate can also be used for sketches – just about anything you would need a pen and paper for in the courtroom.
Circus Ponies Notebook
Not perhaps the most legally inspiring name for a courtroom application, but it’s surprisingly useful. This is an incredibly powerful app for organising your research notes and even files for a full case. It can be used as a legal pad in the courtroom, which means there is no need to tote around heavy notepads and journals, or boxes of court transcripts; everything can be contained on the iPad. The app makes it easy to organise all of your case notes, all of which can be easily searched for with an easy to use search facility. Should you wish you can even use the clever voice activated note taking facility.
TrialPad
This app is perfect for organising all of your courtroom presentations. Unlike other apps which have merely been adapted for use in the courtroom environment, Trialpad has been specifically designed for the purpose. Legal professionals can easily organise information for court hearings, family mediations, jury trials or anything else they may require. By linking the iPad to a monitor or projector, the app can be used to present information you need such as photographs of exhibits to your desired audience. Documents are saved and stored in PDF format for ease of use.
Jack Ramon helped to co-author this post with Craig Timmins, and works with leading children’s court lawyers. Jack provided some information and selected the apps for this article, and he thinks that tablets will spearhead a new revolution for legal profession.