Among the most popular apps downloaded are almost all social including Snapchat, Messenger, Pokemon Go, Instagram and Facebook. Smartphones are great for staying connected to the social media world, but some might say that they are being underutilized and limited to being used for the “fun stuff”. With the capabilities surpassing the first US Spaceship to the moon, there are some more useful ways for professionals, like attorneys, to take advantage of this technology for their practice. Here are 5 useful apps that any attorney can implement into their day-to-day to make the work day go by with a little more ease.
DropBox
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to email a file that is too big. Dropbox allows you to have a central place online to keep all of your important documents, presentations, and files. You can access your content from a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
Dropbox is a great way to share information with clients and legal team. Settings can be changed to let the attorney decide who sees what information, saving time from making multiple folders.
With Dropbox, you can get to those files you left at the office or home on your smartphone. Dropbox’s mobile app is intuitive and easy to read even the biggest files. This is a big plus when trying to access and edit information on the go.
Pricing for the business version of Dropbox is relatively cheap. At $15 a month per user legal teams receive email and phone support, as much space needed, file recovery, and much more.
EverNote
Keyboard attachments for tablets can be annoying to carry around and the virtual keyboards on the screen are more often than not a pain to pop up for quick notes or a sketch. Instead, think back to the good old days of simple paper, pencil, and notepad. Evernote gives the user the best of both worlds; it creates a space to leave all of your finger or stylist written notes on your smartphone or tablet device. You can even use your camera to take pictures that upload directly into the EverNote page being used.
Attorneys are constantly on the move these days for one reason or another. This could be perfect for a personal injury attorney meeting with clients that have limited mobility as a result of their accident. An added bonus is that the attorney can keep information close to him or her at all times. There is no need to worry what device was used to take the notes, Evernote allows notes to be accessed from any device.
RoboForm
RoboForm is the phone security app to use. It manages all of your passwords and keeps them in one secure location. RoboForm allows users to diversify the passwords they use instead of repeating old ones, like people usually do for fear of forgetting them. A password generator randomly creates advanced passwords that have no ties to your cat’s name or favorite sports team. Its password manager keeps all of the go-to websites on one page making it quick and easy to access frequently used sites.
One purchased license syncs all devices a person owns, making life that much easier. What’s also nice about the program is that it is available to the major operating systems: Apple, Windows, Android, and even Linux.
RoboForm keeps sensitive client/attorney information, especially for personal injury attorneys, under virtual lock and key, giving both peace of mind when communicating or transferring files online. With online hacking being all the rage as of late, having an extra layer of security is definitely a step in the right direction for any techy attorney.
Dragon Dictation
Move aside Siri, Dragon Dictation has voice-to-text under control. Siri misunderstanding our directions is a little too common to be able to rely on the IOS’s dictation system. Looking back to poorly translated notes later may be funny, but also a not fun situation to be in when you can’t remember what it was actually supposed to say.
From quick reminders that you don’t have time to sit and type out to lengthy emails, Dragon Dictation is a reliable dictation tool.
Recording important conversation with clients can be put into text instead of just relying on someone writing notes. Say hello to your new, sleek stenographer.
Dictation Dragon has also recently come out with Dragon Mobile Assistant that basically makes your phone a hands free device. You can ask your Mobile Assistant-equipped device to access anything on your phone. This takes multitasking to a whole new level.
LinkedIn seamlessly combines social media and firm networking. Look through profiles for potential clients or stay up to date with colleagues’ work. This is also a great way to market the attorneys themselves: each profile can have one’s education, work experience, awards, specialties, and professional interests. Past clients can endorse skills that buff up your profile strength.
Paying a monthly fee for LinkedIn Premium gives networking fans an edge with comparing your profile to others in the same field, promoting yourself or your firm, and access to recruitment tools.
Facebook and twitter are always fun distractions, but LinkedIn gives the user the same small thrill but adds so much more productivity to a day.
Staying on the ball with technology
The world we live in is becoming so much more based online, every day. These apps are easy to integrate into the work you already do, just simplifying the process. What’s great about these apps is that is saves time from the minor things and gives you more room in your brain to focus on clients and cases.
