Top Apps that Lawyers Should Have

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The field of law has its share of stresses. From students looking to get their master’s degree in criminology or those striving to finish law school, exams and papers can test the wits. For practicing lawyers, court dates, depositions, and long days on the job are par for the course.

Thus, it’s important to find avenues which can help to simplify that law-entrenched life. One way is through “smart” technology and apps that can assist students, lawyers, paralegals, court workers, and others to work on the go, store complex law terms in their back pocket, and even sign and scan important documents at the drop of a hat.

So, below, let’s take a look at some of the top apps available for students, lawyers, paralegals, judges, and beyond.

Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition
According to the Business Insider, Black’s Law Dictionary is one of the first books law school students buy. It’s a fantastic resource recognized as one of the most widely cited law books in the world. Basically, it’s a comprehensive law dictionary-slash-bible for everyone involved in the field of law.

For those with access to an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android device, the 9th Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary offers a wealth of knowledge for the student or worker. While the application runs a hefty $54.99 at the Apple Store, it does offer:

More than 45,000 terms
Close to 3,000 quotations taken from sources during the last five centuries
Spelling and audio pronunciations for approximately 7,000 terms
Inclusion of explanations for more than 1,000 abbreviations and acronyms commonly found within the field

In addition, Black’s new 9th Edition offers a way for students, lawyers, or anyone else interested in law to bookmark their potential search terms for quick reference down the line. All in all, Black’s, in handheld form, offers master’s degree in criminology students, law school students, and lawyers an all-encompassing law dictionary that travels where they do.

Sign-n-Send
For many lawyers, travel opportunities away from the home offices offer chances to head from court dates to lunches, client meetings off-site, and beyond; namely, a lawyer’s life involves constant movement. But, what happens if an urgent document comes through online and needs a lawyers’ signature instantly? And what if he or she is out of office?

A simple way to combat this potentially time-consuming conundrum is to use the Sign-n-Send app. It’s a universal app which works on all iOS devices — iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad — and offers a free version or pay variation which costs $4.99. The free version will add advertisements to the first page sent of the sender’s document.

For those looking to get rid of the advertisements the $4.99 pay version will be best. Otherwise, both versions offer:

The ability to sign Microsoft Office or PDF documents on the fly
Once signed, law specialists can send the signed document directly from their email
The option of sending multiple documents at once

In many instances, law-related documents can be sensitive in nature. To that end, Sign-n-Send offers a secure encrypted server in order to safeguard against any potentially private correspondences being made public.

JotNot’s Scanner Pro
This $.99 application — as well as a free version — offers master’s degree in criminology students and lawyers the opportunity to scan and save a variety of work documents/school notes/etc. to their devices. For those constantly on the go, it records important data both quickly and efficiently.

According to the New York Times, care must be during the actual process of scanning. But, if it’s done correctly, the Scanner Pro app’s scanning results can rival that of a fax machine. And obviously, the app is much easier to fit in your pocket than a fax machine or scanner.

For example, JotNot can scan a variety of important documents, such as:

Books
Whiteboards
Receipts
Business cards
Notes
Photographs, and much more!

Basically, anything and everything which falls under the auspices of evidence or other such important documents (i.e.: homework and/or notes) can be scanned, saved, and sent, at the drop of a hat.

In Summation
For those students looking to enter into a master’s degree in criminology program on their way towards law school and a potential career in law, the apps mentioned for the iPhone, Android, and iPad offer ways in which to ease that sometimes difficult transition. Apps and smartphone technology can help to simplify even the most complex of lives, those potentially inundated with studying, tests, and endless term papers.

For lawyers, these apps can assist in making work life easier while streamlining important processes that prior to the advances in technology could bog down one’s work schedule (and life). In the end, technology today assists in providing a respite from our hectic work and school lives by simplifying these complex processes, thus allowing the student, paralegal, judge, or lawyer to focus solely on what they do best.

Have you used an app that’s helped your practice? Please get in touch below.