by Brett Burney

“Shred Your Legal Pad, Get An iPad!” – Columbus Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Meeting April 19

I am thrilled to be presenting “Shred Your Legal Pad, Get an iPad” with my friend Chad Burton of Burton Law at the Columbus Bar Association this Thursday, April 19, 2012. This is a special presentation for the Small Firm / Solo Practitioner Committee Meeting.

Columbus Bar Association Solo Small Firm Shred Your Legal Pad Get an iPad

I am thrilled to be presenting “Shred Your Legal Pad, Get an iPad” with my friend Chad Burton of Burton Law at the Columbus Bar Association this Thursday, April 19, 2012. This is a special presentation for the Small Firm / Solo Practitioner Committee Meeting.

Chad and I have spoken on the iPad before and we make a great team. I cover the technical considerations of using an iPad in your practice, and Chad discusses how he actually uses it every day in managing his firm and interacting with his colleagues & clients.

Visit the Columbus Bar Association calendar of events to get more details and sign up for the session which takes place over the lunch hour 12:00pm-1:00pm.

by Brett Burney

“60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes” from ABA TECHSHOW 2012

I had the great pleasure of presenting “60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes” last Saturday at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 with Josh Barrett (www.tabletlegal.com) and Jeff Richardson (www.iphonejd.com). I had been looking forward to this for many months, since this popular tradition was started about 3 years ago and I was not disappointed!

60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes from Brett Burney Josh Barret and Jeff RichardsonI had the great pleasure of presenting “60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes” last Saturday at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 with Josh Barrett (www.tabletlegal.com) and Jeff Richardson (www.iphonejd.com). I had been looking forward to this for many months, since this popular tradition was started about 3 years ago.

I figured the room was going to be packed since I saw an AMAZING number of iPads at the TECHSHOW this year. iPads far, FAR outnumbered laptops this year. It was quite the game-changer to look over a room at TECHSHOW and see nothing but iPads everywhere. So I knew that the “60 Apps” session was going to be popular.

Jeff posted his list of apps yesterday and I wanted to mirror the list here, add a little color commentary, and add a few extra apps that didn’t make the final cut for the show.

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by Brett Burney

10 Tips for Using Mobile Safari on an iPad

When Apple first introduced the iPad, they described the web-surfing experience as like “holding the Internet in your hands.” Not only were you literally holding the Internet browser in your hands, you simply touched a link with your finger instead of clicking it with your mouse.

In anticipation of the ABA TECHSHOW coming up this week (March 29-31) I authored this post for the TECHSHOW Blog and I am re-posting it here.

Safari iconWhen Apple first introduced the iPad, they described the web-surfing experience as like “holding the Internet in your hands.” Not only were you literally holding the Internet browser in your hands, you simply touched a link with your finger instead of clicking it with your mouse (although curiously, watch what happens to your mouse cursor when you hover over a link in Internet Explorer or Firefox).

Apple’s web browser for Macs and PCs is called Safari. On the iPad and iPhone, Apple still calls the built-in browser Safari, although most people differentiate the iOS version by calling it “Mobile Safari.”

With iOS 5, Apple significantly upgraded Mobile Safari, offering an even better browsing experience than before. So as long as you have the iOS 5.0 upgrade on your iPad, these tips will help you get the most out Mobile Safari:

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by Jeffrey Schoenberger

Portable Security For Us All, Or Why Steve Gibson Is My Hero

We’ve all done it. You probably did it before you fired up your browser to read this article. You logged onto your computer or network with a *mediocre password* (like your spouse’s name). Maybe you feel bad about this. More likely you don’t think about it at all. I didn’t used to either.

Yubikey Review on www.macsinlaw.com

We’ve all done it. In fact most of us still do it. You probably did it before you fired up your browser to read this article. You logged onto your computer or network with a mediocre password: your spouse’s name, your child’s birthday, your pet’s name. Maybe you feel bad about this. More likely you don’t think about it at all. I didn’t used to either.

The importance of password security didn’t dawn on me until I was attending a CLE conference in Michigan a couple of years ago. It was July of 2010, about four months after I bought an iPad. I decided to travel light and only carry my iPhone and iPad – no MacBook. For the most part this worked wonderfully. Taking notes was simple. I could check and respond to email. And both devices had 3G service, which was faster than the hotel’s overpriced, mediocre wifi. The problem was that part of the conference involved team exercises where our work was handed in for review.1 At that time, the iPad and iOS had no printing mechanism.2 Of course, I was not alone in this problem. The participants who brought laptops did not bring printers.3 We would have to use the the hotel’s business center. And I drew the short straw.

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by Brett Burney

Lawyers Learning About Macs at the ABA TECHSHOW – March 29-31

The ABA TECHSHOW comes to Chicago March 29-31, 2012 (next week!). This annual get-together is a tremendous opportunity to learn about new technology, understand how to better use what you already have, and network with other lawyers on how they use technology in their practice.

The Mac Track at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012

The ABA TECHSHOW comes to Chicago March 29-31, 2012 (next week!).

This annual get-together is a tremendous opportunity to learn about new technology, understand how to better use what you already have, and network with other lawyers on how they use technology in their practice.

One of the highlights of TECHSHOW (I may be a little biased) is the “Mac Track” which has grown to a full day’s worth of educational sessions, not too mention the additional sessions that cover iPhones and iPads.

I’ve been honored to serve on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board for the past three years and I’ve enjoyed inviting some of the most prolific Mac-using lawyers to speak. The “Mac Track” takes place on Friday, March 30, and features an incredible lineup of sessions and speakers:

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by Brett Burney

LegalTech 2012 Interview: Brett Burney on the iPad & Apps in the Legal Community

We had a standing-room only crowd for the “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps” session on Monday at LegalTech NYC 2012. Watch the interview with Brett Burney as he discusses how the iPad has been adopted in the legal community and the best apps available.

LXBN Interview Brett Burney of Burney Consultants on the iPad and Apps in the Legal Community

We had a standing-room only crowd for the “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps” session on Monday at LegalTech NYC 2012.

I had the privilege of speaking with David Neesen, CIO of Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles. David did an excellent job covering some of the challenges in supporting iPads at a large law firm, and I had the pleasure of sharing some of the best apps available for legal professionals on the iPad.

After the presentation, I was interviewed by Colin O’Keefe for the excellent LXBN TV from the LexBlog Network. Colin and his team have been very busy interviewing folks at LTNY and posting information about the conference.

You can view the full interview on LXBN.

by Jeffrey Schoenberger

Apple’s Surreptitious Entry into the Mac Docking Station Market

Docking stations have a mixed history on the Mac. Guest blogger Jeffrey Schoenberger briefly covers the history of docking stations for Macs, and details how the Apple Thunderbolt Display can function as an incredible docking station for the Mac.

Thunderbolt Display as a Docking Station for the MacBook Air and MacBook pro

I welcome Jeffrey Schoenberger to Macs in Law for his first guest blog post. I met Jeffrey a few years ago at a state bar presentation, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and his passion for Macs. Here, Jeffrey answers a question I get a LOT from lawyers looking for a Mac-compatible docking station.  Jeffrey’s bio is at the end of the post. Also, please comment on the post if you found it helpful. And thank you for reading!

Docking stations have a mixed history on the Mac. From 1992 to 1997, Apple manufactured the PowerBook Duo line and a set of accompanying docking stations. The Duo docks functioned the same as modern PC docking stations and port replicators. They added additional connections and eliminated the plug-unplug routine. Once Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the Duo docks were shown the door.

Starting with the Wall Street/Main Street line of PowerBook G3s, Apple-blessed docking solutions vanished. Apple left the market to third parties to fill. One of the most prominent was BookEndz, which created a series of docking stations for PowerBooks and MacBooks. These solutions filled a gap, but did so awkwardly. Apple offered no engineering assistance and its placement of critical ports on both sides of the laptop meant that the user had to carefully align his computer so that each port precisely met its mate on the BookEndz unit. But, so long as Apple neglected the market, third parties would do what they could to fill a real need.

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by Brett Burney

Brett Burney Presenting “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps” at LegalTech 2012 (Mon. Jan. 30)

I will be presenting “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps” at LegalTech New York on Monday, January 30, 2012. I will be joined on stage David Neesn, CIO of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP.

LegalTech Show 2012

I will be presenting “iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps” at LegalTech New York on Monday, January 30, 2012.

I will be joined on stage David Neesn, CIO of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP.

David will cover the appeal and proliferation of the iPad in the legal world, as well as the challenges the iPad poses for law firm IT professionals. He’ll also discuss some of the options available for mobile device management (MDM).

I get the “fun stuff” in covering the best and most useful apps for iPad-toting legal professionals – everything from note-taking to document editing to legal research to remote access.

Check out the agenda for LegalTech New York 2012 and I hope to see you there!

by Brett Burney

Comments on the Results of the 2011 Apple in Law Firms Survey from Clio

Clio posted the results of their 2011 Apple in Law Firms Survey in December, and they reveal a continuing slow, but steady, movement in the direction of Apple. I covered 2010 Clio’s Survey that coincided with the MILOfest Conference of that year.

Clio 2011 Apple Law Firms Survey

Clio posted the results of their 2011 Apple in Law Firms Survey in December, and they reveal a continuing slow, but steady, movement in the direction of Apple.

I covered 2010 Clio’s Survey that coincided with the MILOfest Conference of that year.

In 2011, Clio had 763 people participate in the Survey (down slightly from the 835 that participated a year before). Seventy-six percent of the respondents were from firms that had 10 attorneys or less (up from 50% of firms that size last year).

One of the more interesting numbers was that 25.3% of the respondents were Mac “newcomers,” meaning that they had switched to the Mac within the past year. Last year’s survey only reported about 20% of respondents fell into that category, so that certainly reveals that more lawyers are making the switch.

Why are lawyers “going Mac?” The Survey reported that 46.5% of the respondents said they chose Apple hardware over PC options because the technology was more reliable and secure. This was the exact same number in the 2010 Survey.

The next most popular response to “why” was “usability” at 33.8%, up from 27% in 2010. This tells me that lawyers are finding the Mac and iOS devices to be very intuitive. I usually hear the comment “it just works!”

Next was “familiarity due to home use” at 9.8% down from about 11% in 2010. And coming in last was still “aesthetics & design” which hit on 3%, way down from 7% in 2010. That tells me that the idea that Macs are more expensive because they’re so much prettier is getting blasted away. Macs are finally being perceived as the legitimate products that they are.

One of the biggest contingents in the Survey were lawyers using iPhones, which accounted for about 60.9% of the respondents. This number rose from only 50% last year. Jeff Richardson at www.iphonejd.com estimated last summer thatapproximately 300,000 U.S. lawyers use an iPhone based on numbers from the Annual ABA Legal Technology Survey.

Read more about the 2011 Apple in Law Firm Survey results here.

by Brett Burney

Take the 2011 Clio “Apple in Law Offices” Survey – Last Chance This Week!

Last year, the Clio team offered the first “Apple in Law Firms” Survey. There were over 800 respondents to the survey. I gave a full write-up of last year’s results on the blog here, and Clio gave their own write-up, as well as a couple of focused comments. Plus there’s a chance to win an iPad 2!

Take the Clio 2011 Apple in Law Offices SurveyLast year, the Clio team offered the first “Apple in Law Firms” Survey. There were over 800 respondents to the survey and the results were truly fascinating (well, at least for folks like me!). I gave a full write-up of last year’s results on the blog here, and Clio gave their own write-up, as well as a couple of focused comments.

This week is your last chance to participate in the 2011 “Apple in Law Offices” Survey which apparently sports a new name, as well as a chance to win an iPad 2! You don’t have to be a Mac-user to take the survey – the questions cover iOS devices as well as plans for using cloud-based services, etc.

The survey only takes a couple of minutes, and you have the possibility of wining an iPad 2! Click here to get started and I’ll be sure to break-down the results of the survey once it’s completed.