How Lawyers Use Evernote

Are you already using Evernote, but wonder how colleagues are using it?  Or are you new to productivity apps and want to gauge how you might use Evernote in your clerkship or legal job?

Legalproductivity.com has a blog post with real world stories of lawyers and Evernote here. See how lawyers are using a mobile app, Evernote, to streamline their productivity and consider the ways you can begin to take advantage of the convenience of your mobile device or add to your productivity.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Mobile Law Dictionaries A-Z

Now it is easy to have all the legal language you need at your fingertips with mobile law dictionaries! But, as the app world grows and more choices are available out there, it can be difficult to know which is the best for you.

Thanks to lawtechnologynews.com, you can get some guidance in choosing the best mobile law dictionary for you here. Available for Android, Apple and other platforms, legal definitions are now just a button away.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Politics and Government going mobile

Stay informed on Washington happenings while mobile.  Check out the White House News Media app(iOS, Android) for news from the White House and the Congressional Record app (iOS) for what our representatives and senators are discussing.  Get a more current take on late breaking political news from the app Politics Today (iOS).  This app gathers Twitter feeds and then presents them as "news', "liberal" or "conservative"

For more detail on these and other political apps, see the NY Times article Let the Phone Be Your Political Advisor .

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Pomodoro Technique and the Pomotodo App for Time Management

The Pomodoro Technique for time management works for law students and lawyers. The basic idea is to work in short bursts of time, usually around 25 minutes, and make yourself more productive in a shorter span of time!  Read more about it here.  And implement it in your life with Pomotodo, available in iOS and Android.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Mobile app: Stitcher

The mobile app Stitcher lets you stream radio shows and sync and download podcasts for offline listening. The Front Page lets you quickly find breaking news and the latest episodes of favorite shows. If you are at a loss as to what to listen to next, Stitcher makes recommendations based upon your listening habits.

Read more about Stitcher here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

App: Word Lens

Have you ever been traveling in a foreign country and wondered what those road signs were?  Or where to get the bus?  Perhaps you are a non-US citizen in America and have the same issue.  The app, Word Lens, can help!

"Word Lens is an augmented reality translation application.... It uses the built-in camera of your smartphone to instantly scan and translate foreign text. It then displays the translation on your device’s screen...." Read more here.

This is what Word Lens will look like on your device:
(the image is an English -> Spanish visual translation)

You can get Word Lens free for a limited time.  It is available for iOS and Android devices.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Find a Quiet Place in NYC With the Breather App

Now that you have passed the bar and have to occasionally head in to NYC for work, the Breather app will let you take some time in a quiet place to relax and/or work while in the bustling metropolis known for a lack of quiet spaces to drop in for a half hour or more.  The Breather app lets you rent space on a daily, short time basis.

"Sure, you could find a local library or stop in at a nearby Starbucks, but for a few dollars, you get your own quiet space, privacy, fast, free Wi-Fi, charging docks for your phone and other devices, and a comfortable, cozy atmosphere. All Breather locations include pencils, pens, notepads, candy and other helpful stuff. Some also include dry erase idea walls." Read more here.

Breather app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

20 Best Legal Productivity Apps of 2013

If you want to know what apps are popular with the legal crowd, check out this list of the 20 most popular legal apps for 2013 taken from LegalProductivity.com's popular App of the Week posts.

From Air Sketch – Turn your iPad into a Whiteboard or Presentation Tool to JuryPad – Everything You Need to Select Your Jury, you can find a wide variey of apps perfect for your legal career.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Ansa App Covers Your Text/Video/Pic Tracks

The Ansa app allows you to switch to "Off-the-Record Messaging." As their website explains here, you can "[c]ommunicate off the record, so no trace of your conversation is left behind." Ansa.com

Ansa is available for iPhone and Android.  Protect yourself from your carelessly sent texts and pictures today!

Read more about the Ansa app here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

SignEasy App - An Easy Way to Sign Documents Online

The SignEasy app allows you to sign almost any documents online, fast and easy.  No more printing and scanning documents that need a signature!  You can add multiple signatures and even create a stamp for your documents.

SignEasy is available for Android, Apple and Blackberry devices.  Read more about the app in this Legal Productivity article.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Droid Lawyer

Are you more of a Droid than an Apple?  Although there are a great many iPad/Mac lawyers, the Droids are out there!

For tips and tricks when practicing law with your Android device, check out The Droid Lawyer, Jeffrey Taylor's blog.  He has reviews of Android apps and blog posts on the latest news is in the legal Droid world.

These are the Droids you're looking for!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Keep In Touch With The Viber App

Viber is a text messaging and phone app that lets you use a wifi connection or your phone's 3G/4G connection to communicate with others.  If the person you are calling or texting has Viber, the phone calls and texts are free.  You can also send text messages and keep in touch without a phone connection, which is especially helpful when traveling abroad. All you need is a wifi connection.

"Viber works on most Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Nokia and Bada devices. Viber is also available for Mac and Windows." Read more about Viber here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Free Mobile Scanner App

Camscanner is a app that turns your mobile phone or iPad into a scanner that creates PDFs.  It is available for Android devices, iPhone and iPad.  There is a free version and a Pro version (currently $4.99).  If you register with a .edu email address, and tweet, FB or Google+ about the app, it will  unlock the Pro version for free! 

The Camscanner app will make PDF copies of anything you can take a picture of, then allows you to annotate your PDF, make an OCR copy and more. Find out about all the features of Camscanner here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

An App for Flash Cards

Do you love flash cards, but hate to make them?

With the StudyBlue app, you can create your own flash cards or share cards with other students in your class.

"Flashcards are an effective way to memorize information, but making them is a headache.  With StudyBlue, use text, pictures and audio to create the perfect stack of (digital) flashcards; or, search the massive database to borrow someone else's." http://mashable.com

The StudyBlue app is available for Android and iOS devices.  Check out the video here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Online Bluebook

I know how much you all love the Bluebook.  Who doesn't?

Now you can get a Bluebook app for your iPhone or iPad (not sure when Android will be available).  It is part of the Rulebook app libraries - which also includes court rules and the ABA  Model Rules.  The app is free but you have to pay to access the Bluebook ($39.99) and other titles (court rules $0.99 - $2.99; ABA Model Rules $24.99).

You can also purchase web access to the Bluebook  at www.legalbluebook.com .

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Get Organized with Evernote for Lawyers

The mobile productivity app Evernote has been expanding its app offerings and many features are useful for lawyers and law firms.  Find a list of the Evernote app family here.

Evernote lets you:

"Capture anything.

Save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see.

Access anywhere.

Evernote works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there.

Find things fast.

Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images."

Evernote is available for most platforms and mobile devices, including Android, Mac and iOS.

Rocket Matter has created a short, free e-book that highlights some of the best ways to use Evernote called Evernote for Lawyers.  To access this free e-book, click here, fill out the short form and download the PDF.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Top Mobile Travel Apps for Lawyers

Law Technology News recently published their picks of the top mobile travel apps for lawyers.  The list was created based on the busy life of lawyers who are often traveling for business meetings, hearings, conferences, and other obligations.  The aim of the travel apps is to reduce the chaos by saving time, organizing costs and using productivity tools for practice .  Some of the apps recommended include Evernote, SkyScanner, Due and more.  Read more and learn about the top fifteen recommendations here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat