Just after I declared full-text online the pinnacle of legal materials, iPad and GoodReader have breathed new life into the PDF. Of course, full-text online legal reference materials remains the best way I can think of to share and collaborate on a large amounts of materials with multiple users.
However, the iPad and GoodReader make a PDF library an outstanding option for a single person or for a particular purpose; a trial or deposition come to immediately to mind.
For me, the animating force is the prospect of having thousands of cases, statutes, and reference materials with me and ready to go- it was the "ready to go" part that concerned me.
Acrobat has a range of features to help organize and deal with long documents, including bookmarks, full search, portfolios, and the constellation of commenting tools that each create the functional equivalent of a bookmark in dizzying variety. Demo Video of bookmarking in Acrobat
Initially, I thought by viewing PDF on the iPad, I would be giving up most if not all of the Acrobat features. And I was right, but not so much so that it really matters in the scheme of things.
Here is a how I use bookmarks, rapidly applied in Acrobat, to create an document outline in iPad's GoodReader. Like most things great things, this is simple.
First. Apply the bookmarks to your PDF in Acrobat and nest them as you desire. Video below.
Second. Save your PDF in a convenient place to access it with iPad's GoodReader. I use Dropbox and MobileMe for this. Review of Using Dropbox and GoodReader.
Third, Open your PDF in GoodReader and touch the bookmark button and see the bookmarks saved as an outline. I applaud GoodReader's programmers for doing it this way because it leaves the bookmarks section for case-by-case application.
Now you have an outlined PDF ready for repeated use.
As to the loss of commenting and annotation, iPad has an App for that. It's called iAnnotate PDF- but that's a separate review.