Digital White Papers

THE AGE OF THE APP: ATTORNEYS NOW INCLUDED INVESTING IN MOBILITY Embracing the move to mobility, Fowler Bell made the decision to give each of its attorneys an iPad in 2011. According to Steve White, Technical Support Specialist at Fowler Bell, the devices were wellreceived. "We offered orientation sessions each Friday for about a month to get folks up-to-speed on both the devices and available accessories." The firm researched legal-specific apps and encouraged attorneys to try out what interested them. Fowler Bell also invested time and resources in developing a foundation for making the devices useful for work purposes. The NetDocuments iPad app was installed for each attorney, allowing them to access files from the firm's DMS. The NetDocuments app was "clunky at first," according to White, but the firm has seen much improvement. Although the iPad tends to be better suited for data consumption than production, Fowler attorneys have appreciated being able to carry their iPad — instead of a large Redweld — into court. Added White: "They think of the iPad as their hard copy of the document." In each of its conference rooms, Fowler Bell installed an Apple TV device, which allows attorneys to present content from their iPad onto the room's television screen. Connecting is simple: Attorneys handle it themselves by using the in- room Wi-Fi. With access to the firm's DMS and a simple method for presenting in conference rooms, meetings often turn into collaboration sessions. ActiveSync to the Exchange email servers, but those devices are owned by the user. This setup works because the firm can still remotely wipe The iPad can even make one of an attorney's least favorite tasks more tolerable. Fowler Bell acquired Bellefield Software's iTimeKeep app in 2012. iTimeKeep ties into the firm's backend financial system and allows timekeepers to use their iPhone or iPad to record time entries. A simple user interface has proven more efficient for some attorneys than recording time entries on paper. Attorney adoption rate is currently running at about 25 percent. those devices if they are lost or stolen, and access is severed when an attorney leaves the firm. Currently, about one-third of the firm's attorneys own iPads. GRADUAL ADOPTION Thompson Coburn does not provide iPads or other tablet computers for its attorneys. Instead, the firm supports devices that can connect via Like Fowler Bell, Thompson Coburn introduced the iTimeKeep app and has seen moderate adoption rates. But the firm still believes in the potential timesavings the app can provide. However, accurate time and data entry is a large obstacle for the iPad with its challenging onscreen keypad. Bluetooth keypads help, but they impact mobility. The most promise for similar apps likely lies in voice recognition, as speech-to-text on many smartphones has improved to the point that few corrections are needed.

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