3) Google Voice As a divorce and criminal lawyer, sometimes my clients are
difficult and want a little attention, or have a genuine emergency. Don’t laugh. Well, as a lawyer I need the most stress-free practice that I can maintain. Google Voice is that application. It’s also free. Google Voice allows me to give a Google-created mobile
phone number to my clients that will then forward the call to my mobile phone. Te client never gets my personal phone number, and I have customized my own to require the caller to say his or her name before I accept the call. Tis way, I choose to take the call or send it to a customized Google Voice voicemail. Moreover, it has a do not disturb feature when I simply don’t want to be bothered. It gets even better. If the caller chooses to leave a message, Google Voice will transcribe the message and email it to me. Tis is wonderful when you are in court and cannot answer a call. Tis product has many setup options, and simply makes practice easier.
4) Todo by Appigo (via a compatible “to do list” website like Toodledo) I am practically married to this app. For those interested,
the Getting Tings Done school of thought will organize your personal and professional life, and apps like Todo make life wrinkle-free. I have an exceptional memory, but why bother remembering what you don’t have to. Tis is a folder and category based system that allows the user to create subjects, and within those subjects, manage in detail whatever projects, reminders, notes and things to do as required. Tis is the app I will never compromise on because it organizes everything in my life. Period. Need reminders to draft a divorce motion? Call the judge’s
secretary? Pick up that anniversary gift? Put it in the appropriate “subject” folder, label the thing or client’s name in the task line, put the date due, note the level of importance (high to low), pick any listed goal about it, and freely write any specific notes about that task —then forget about it. Let the app keep you informed by IMMEDIATELY writing the things when they come to mind and reviewing the list periodically throughout the day. It also has reminders and calendar sync capability. I do use the reminders but I don’t clutter my calendar with it. I use the calendar for a clutter-free book of appointments, minor notes and court dates. Te more one has to remember, the more stressful life and work become.
5) Keynote or Powerpoint Everyone is familiar with Powerpoint. Keynote is the Apple
version. Some call it Powerpoint on steroids. Its very smooth, easy to use and can do above and beyond what Powerpoint is able. I recently used Keynote in a CLE seminar playing multimedia files and bullet-pointing my speech. Not impressive? I did it wirelessly by iPad. Still not impressive? I put the iPad down, and switched in the middle of the presentation wireless to my iPhone and kept going. When opposing counsel is fumbling with a huge projector, laptop, remote clicker and stand, you should impress the jury by whipping a small device out your pocket with Keynote as a cooler presentation.
6) iJuror I LOVE THIS. iJuror is a voir dire app that allows a lawyer to
create the jury box exactly as it is in court, put ethnically similar characters in its spot, have the person’s name over the character. Click on the character and input any demographic information you choose. Te beauty of it is that there are already quick- scroll options for demographic information. Whether a juror is married, has children, served on a prior jury, been a victim of crime, etc. It also helps me quickly memorize every juror’s name which I do in every trial during voir dire to grab their attention. As they get preemptory challenges or dismissed for cause, simply drag them to the wastebasket labeled accordingly. As jurors switch seats, simply drag them to their new seats. Save each trial, email it and have your expert review it if you choose.
7) Fastcase Very user friendly and simple app to word or cite search
cases and codes.
8) iBooks iBooks is great for leisure reading downloaded books, or
reading PDF files placed there in iTunes or from any website. I use this a lot in court either when I am bored, or if I’m in front of a judge and choose to pull up the PDF file of a chart. PDFs on the iPad or iPhone can be read through other apps too of course. My favorite being Office2
HD mentioned above.
9) Google Calendar (I sync mine with iPad’s Calendar) Google’s calendar is my favorite because I can pull it up
anywhere, and because I prefer the interface of the calendars on my Apple devices, it syncs immediately with all devices when a change is made on either device. Calendars in the cloud can all do this, but Google is reliable. iCloud is another option.
10). Square (Because you never want to turn payments down!) Using mobile devices to take payments has never been easier.
Now, as a solo practice I can take credit cards with ease and regardless of where I am. It deposits to my account by the next morning. I can physically swipe the card by using a tiny reader, or type the card number in (great for over the phone payments). Once it approves the payment, I can email or text a receipt immediately. In a nutshell, the idea is efficiency. Saving time, space, money
and increasing productivity should be everyone’s goal. Maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Te way I choose to use the above apps may not be similar to another lawyer, professional or even a student but the options are available to all. Tat’s what makes this the best era for professionals in history. t
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Taurus Bailey of the T. Bailey Law Firm is a 1995 graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2002 graduate of the Nashville School of Law. Taurus is a member of the MBA Technology Section.
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