Robert Ambrogi – December 1, 2011
As we mentioned earlier, many attorneys have turned to iPads to prepare and question experts. Talk to trial attorneys about the apps that enable them to use their iPads in trials and depositions, and you hear a few names repeated over and over again. Among the apps attorneys most often mention are these:
Keynote. Think of Keynote as PowerPoint for the iPad. It lets you create and show presentations on your iPad or import and present PowerPoint files. The cost is $9.99.
Fastcase. When you need to do some quick legal research on the road, there is no more convenient app than this. Research federal and state case law and statutes, directly on your iPad or iPhone and all for free.
The Deponent App. This iPad app lets you outline and prepare questions and exhibits for a deposition. It comes with some 150 questions relating to areas such as qualifying an expert witness or exploring a witness’s educational background. You can customize and arrange these as you like and link them to exhibits. The cost of the app is $9.99.
TrialPad. TrialPad enables attorneys to organize and present evidence using their iPads. Its features include the ability to highlight, annotate, redact and zoom in on documents as you present them; view and compare documents side-by-side; view and edit video; have an expert mark up an exhibit and then save the mark-ups for your closing; and project wirelessly. It costs $89.99.
Exhibit A. Like TrialPad, Exhibit A lets you use your iPad to present documents, photos and videos. You can highlight, mark and call-out key sections of an exhibit in real time. It has fewer presentation options than TrialPad, but is much less expensive at $9.99.
RLTC: Evidence. This is the least expensive of the trial presentation apps, costing $4.99, and also the most basic in its features. It can be used to organize and annotate documents and images on the iPad and then present them using a projector or external display.
GoodReader. GoodReader is a PDF reader and more. In fact, it will read a wide range of files, including Microsoft Office documents, text files, image files and web pages. It lets you organize and annotate documents and is adept at handling large documents. It plays well with a number of document services, such as Dropbox, Box.net and Google Docs. All this for just $4.99.
Dropbox. With Dropbox on your iPad, you can easily synchronize documents with your laptop and with other devices. If you use multiple iPads, you can use Dropbox to share documents between them. The app is free.Tell us: What other apps do you use for litigation?