I am a collector of legal materials and love to have things close at hand. With the iPad, we can now have thousands of pages, not only close at hand, but actually in one hand. 

There are certainly a number of ways to get this done, here is one way I have tried and found it easy and convenient enough to share with you.

This plan involves two apps:

1. GoodReader

This app is a place to store and read files of all types, I use it for PDF, but it will take MS Office files, video and even audio.  You can transfer files to GoodReader using Wi-Fi, download them from the Internet, from email attachments or connect to a popular server. 

I chose the last option and used Dropbox to load up the iPad with cases and statutes.  As you can see from the screen shots, GoodReader also connects to Mobile Me and Google Docs.

2. Dropbox

After reading a post by Ben Stevens at the Mac Lawyer on Dropbox I wanted to check it out.  Dropbox is a way of sharing files across computers and devices and also makes them available online.  It's just like Mobile Me's iDisk but I think the sync is better...

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It seems that every day more and more is being done on the web and browsers have come a long way to help make that happen.

Here are couple of tips for using browser tabs, new windows, and dragging and dropping links to use the browser more effectively in Westlaw.

In the video, I go over:

1. Opening multiple tabs in a single window- good for keeping related cases and materials together

2. Opening a new window - good for starting a new branch of research and keeping those materials together.

3. Dragging and dropping links-  a great way to open links in new tabs and windows so you have everything you want to look at open at once.

Everything I go over in the video works on every site, and in every browser, it just so happens that the techniques are very handy for legal research.

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When I decided to work with remote clients,  I figured I’d have to know something about computers.  And so I started with what I thought was the beginning; Microsoft Word.

I took training courses, read books and blogs, and played around for hours that now amount to days.  In all that time, one thing stands out as the most important, one thing that can radically alter how Word helps get work done. 

That one thing is understanding and formating your documents using Styles. 

This video is a good overview of styles.  I shot this video using Microsoft Word on a Mac but the exact same principles apply to the PC version.  Learning to format with Styles is worth far more than the time it takes.

• Watch the Rest of The Making Office Letterhead Video Series Here
• Check out Styles at Microsoft
• Legal writing: make yourself understood by making your writing easier to read by Sam Glover (summarizing the 7th Circuit's writing tips and describes learning styles, as the most important tip.)
• For comprehensive computer training I recommend lynda.com

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I have always had trouble dictating memos and letters. For me, the act of typing is a part of the writing experience and thinking process.

But I might try to change that because you can dictate directly to the iPad and that is how I wrote the first draft of this post.

The iPad App is called Dragon and the system is based on their Dragon Naturally Speaking; software I know has been around for some time.

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Here is a little something that I do sometimes that may help you out. 

The Icons on top of  Mac OS X Window can be dragged around to create shortcuts to that file or into the body of an email to attach it. Have a look:

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Many people love the ritual of the paper, the look the feel, and the practice of holding out the news as a curtain blocking out the world. And I can respect that.  Comfort like that can be tough to give up. 

However, after taking a look at the the new AP Mobile App for iPad, the answer is - Yes, paper news is dead to me. The presentation of digital news has taken a quantum leap.

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  "iPad is as Addictive as Oxycontin”  says Mad Money’s Jim Cramer according to Apple Investor. The Business Insider gave it a two-word review “It’s Great.” 

After one day with the iPad, I agree with both themes.

It Feels Natural. It does so much so easily and there is something very right about controlling a computer by touch.

The Execution is Superb....

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Apple has reworked their iWork suite of productivity programs for the iPad. Let's see what Pages for iPad can do.

I'm sitting in court waiting to be called and I'm writing this blog post with the iPad on my lap. There is no doubt that the keyboard will take some getting used to but it is nearly full size and I am starting to get the hang of it. And there is also no question. that getting the iPad out to get a few words down is much easier than pulling out a laptop; something I would never actually do in court.

Right away, the iPad pickups up convenience points.

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I started the Off-Site Law Center to help lawyers move their operations off-site, out of the office, to a home office or anywhere else they wanted to get work done. The basic idea is to grease the rails of information storage and exchange via a computer system or application of some type.

Before today,  there were several good options and approaches. Today I saw the future and it's called iPad.

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The icons to the left of the document in the Panel Pane are every useful.  I use the bookmark panel to organize long PDFs.  Tip- If you create bookmarks and want them to be open by default when the PDF is first opened, go to "File">"Document Properties" and click on the "Initial View" tab to set those options- the keyboard shortcut for Document properties is "cmd + d" (ctrl on a PC)

The problem with them is that we often forget to use them.  In this video, I go over the Pages Panel in Acrobat which is very handy to move, reorder, and combine pages from multiple PDF documents. 

If you are missing the old days of shuffling papers between files then this video will may make you feel better. 

I also show you the fastest way I know of the rename a file, which is great for cases. 
 

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