Solo Practice

iPad for Lawyers: The Easiest Access to Information

By The Greatest American Lawyer

I recently posted about integrating an iPad into your law firm's business process.  Each day, I am trying to keep track of the different ways that I find myself using the iPad as an adjunct to my Lenovo X61 laptop computer and iPhone.  I have to agree with Dennis Kennedy who noted on a recent GAL Radio interview titled "Will The iPad Replace The Legal Pad" who observed:

Dennis Kennedy: You know I see the iPad and think it is potentially a transition device, that is going to say ?we are moving to this mobile platform, that?s always on, access from anywhere, internet will always be available, and we are also starting to look and say how do we use computers, what are we doing and I think that?s , the iPad comes in and says this is a way to get to that mobile platform..So it is a little bit bigger than a phone, not as big as a laptop and that could be the right size and that is the big question for Apple and for everybody else about how this is going to work. Is there room for that device, that size, that additional device, that does what it does, does that fit into the technology we want to have with us all the time."

Dennis' focus on the "transitional" nature of the iPad is right on.  One of the most common uses I am finding for my iPad is during the 15 minutes it takes my laptop computer on a Windows Operating System to start up in the morning. 

I use my iPad to check my calendar, get an update on the most recent emails, check our extranet system and related business activities.  I also start up the iPad memo application and begin an initial list of priority items for the day.

While this might seem like a relatively nominal benefit, these efficiencies really add up.  Fifteen minutes of additional productivity five days a week is another hour plus of productive time.  I have always said that the benefits of technology really are small, incremental things.  For all the productivity my laptop computer brings, the Windows Operating System that it works on is painfully slow at start up.  This means that getting my computer online not only takes a lot of time, but there is a huge disincentive to even start the computer in order to perform some tasks.  This is one of the reasons why the lawyers at our law firm are moving to Apple computers over the next twelve months.  In the meantime, my iPad is helping fill the time gap and adding productivity to my day.  

Full post as published by The Greatest American Lawyer on June 14, 2010 (boomark / email).