The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/34686
SMART MOVES If the firm uses Citrix Receiver, the iPhone can be used as a track pad for the virtual desktop, but most other apps require users to memorize gestures that translate to mouse functionality — such as Double Click and Drag — on the virtual desktop. THE NATIVE APP APPROACH Of course the virtual desktop approach has some disadvantages as well. For example, the user needs a good, stable network connection to access a virtual desktop. Gestures such as flick to scroll and pinch to zoom often work poorly or don’t work at all. Apps such as Excel and Word are much harder to navigate without a mouse. Printing isn’t supported for many of these virtual desktop apps. To solve these problems, we need to look at utilizing native applications, apps written specifically for the iPad to perform common functions. To make the native apps approach work, we first need to understand what iPad applications an attorney would find most useful. One could write an entire article on which apps are the most useful for which attorneys, but based on my experience, it makes sense for attorneys to first have basic content-consumption and content- creation applications. For content consumption, lawyers will want access to an Internet browser, some sort of file viewer, basic research/ reference tools, and perhaps access to the firm’s intranet. For content creation, most lawyers will want email, word processing and access to their document management system. Finally, some lawyers will want practice-specific apps, such as document comparison tools and trial 50 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer preparation and presentation tools. Spreadsheet support should be included in this category as well. • Content-Consumption Apps For many attorneys, 90 percent of their work involves reading information from a variety of sources, which makes apps for Internet browsing and document viewing the most critical. As every iPad user knows, the iPad comes with a very competent (except for the lack of Flash support) Web browser in Safari. Those looking for an upgrade from Safari might consider Atomic Web Browser. If Flash support is vital, the only currently available option on the iPad is Skyfire, which has gotten mixed reviews regarding performance. To view documents from email, from the Web or from another source, it is hard to beat GoodReader, which can display a variety of files, can annotate PDFs and even encrypt files. Other options include FileApp or ReaddleDocs. Moving on to reference, there are a variety of legal reference products, including Black’s Law Dictionary, LawLibe, and LawBox. A simple search of the app store will bring up apps that allow users to search the statutes for most states, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Internal Revenue Code and much more. For research, both LexisNexis and Westlaw (WestlawNext) have apps that allow searching a portion of their vast databases. Another interesting research alternative to consider is Fastcase, especially because several bar associations already provide their members free access to this service. Finally, iPad users can access a firm’s intranet using an SSL virtual private network (VPN) appliance such as the Juniper Network’s SA series, or the Barracuda SSL VPN,