We think it’s a great time to take a closer look at how the iPad can enhance your practice of law.

Serving clients better

As always, our iPad fascination focuses on how the technology interfaces with our products to serve clients better—with depositions, legal videos, video synchronization, digital exhibits and more. We’re discovering that there’s a role for the iPad at almost every step in the process—from prepping for depositions, participating in the deposition process, reviewing and annotating completed depositions, and, ultimately, presenting evidence to the jury at trial.

We were intrigued when we heard about TrialPad, the iPad jury presentation app ($89.95). With an iPad, Wi-Fi and the tiny wireless AppleTV Airplay to “mirror” your iPad screen onto a TV monitor, you can present wirelessly to the jury—so you’re free to walk around without being tethered to the podium. Hmm….

We tested how well TrialPad would work with our deposition products. We liked it so much that we’re tempted to use TrialPad, Apple TV and Airplay to present the latest court reporting technologies to our clients.

Getting set up for security

First things first, we tested the iPad2 3G with IOS.5 and the latest TrialPad update, version 3.0.35. For an extra layer of protection, we went into the iPad’s Settings and set up a four-digit passcode and set the passcode lock to lock the unit and erase its content after 10 unsuccessful login attempts.

We also took advantage of the free registration for iCloud available for iPad 2. (Settings> General>iCloud) so we can use iCloud’s GPS to locate the iPad if it goes missing. We also chose to have our iPad content stored in iCloud.

Easy to load and organize

Using TrialPad, we created a case file that looked just like a manila folder and started importing materials, including our Hahn & Bowersock presentation—created with Keynote.

Our sample case materials—transcript, video, synched video clip, photos and X-ray—were all stored in GoodReader. From there, we moved them into Dropbox and then into TrialPad. The app gives you four ways to import documents, photos and videos: Dropbox, iPhoto, email or file sharing in iTunes. (To run our synched legal videos on TrialPad, we exported them as MPEG files, then converted them to the MP4 format to play on the iPad.)

TrialPad lets you mark photos or transcripts with colored highlighters, call out and highlight block sections of transcripts or documents, and compare and contrast documents side by side. You can save your annotations for jury review by pressing the fire/hot docs button. You can also make and save video clips with just a few steps. There’s a multicolored laser pointer to guide viewers through your presentation and a whiteboard for hand-drawn diagrams.

To present on Trialpad, you simply swipe, tap, zoom in and zoom out with your fingers—no keyboard needed!

Once you’ve loaded case materials into your TrialPad case folder, you can mirror the content wirelessly to a HD TV screen through Apple TV Airplay using the output mode. Blank and freeze options keep you from accidentally displaying a document and let you hide screens you might not want the jury to see.

The TrialPad website features videos with step-by-step instructions and an excellent FAQ section with answers to how-to questions.

From small screen to big screen

With the small and sleek Apple TV Airplay ($99), a Wi-Fi connection and a high-definition TV with HDMI input, you can wirelessly display the content of your iPad screen on the TV monitor for viewing. The Apple TV AirPlay only takes minutes to set up. Tap the Airplay icon and toggle your mirror option to On, and you’re sharing your iPad content with the jury. (We’ve created a presentation that walks you step by step through the Apple TV Airplay set-up process. Let us know if you’d like a copy.)

Long days call for a battery boost

The iPad 2 has solid battery life—10 hours under good conditions—but open apps, 3G use, frequent checking of email and screen brightness can all take a toll. If you’re facing a long deposition or court appearance, you’ll feel safer with an extra battery boost.

We experimented with two options:

The wireless rechargeable New Trent IMP1000 external battery pack and charger ($76.95) gives the iPad an extra 19 hours of battery life. It’s sleek and tiny enough to fit in your pocket with the added advantage of being able to charge your iPhone 4,Blackberry and several other smartphones.

We also tested and loved the HyperJuice Stand ($129.95) that delivers an extra 16 hours of battery life and doubles as a convenient iPad stand. (Its built-in pass-through battery means it can power your device and recharge it at the same time.) The HyperJuice holds your iPad at an 18-degree or 45-degree angle—vertical or horizontal—for convenient support in the office, on the plane or in court for hands-free viewing.

So much more to come

Innovative legal, medical, aviation and business apps take center stage every day—and the urge to embrace the iPad as a research and discovery tool is irresistible! With a little creativity, the iPad is adding real efficiencies to the deposition and trial process. Stay tuned!

If you’d like to learn more about the products in this post, please take advantage of our iPad demos—by webinar or in person. Contact clientservices@hahnbowersock.com for details.

And as a disclaimer, Hahn & Bowersock has no financial interest in any of the products mentioned—we just love sharing ideas about new technology and how it can help you!

Zagg keyboard

We love timesaving gadgets, so we popped our iPad into a Bluetooth-connected Zagg portable keyboard. In seconds, we were typing as easily as on a laptop. Touch screens are great—except for serious typing. The $99 Zagg keyboard solves that problem beautifully.

Web depositions

Attend and participate in H&B web depositions from your iPad. Joining a web deposition session is quick and easy. You can view participants in the bottom carousal and attend via iPad cam and Skype or your own phone. It’s easy to see exhibits and view and interact with the witness. The private and group chat worked without a hitch. Picture and sound clarity were perfect. Want to include your client, expert or co-counsel? Invite them to attend by laptop, iPad, iPhone or desktop. And as an added bonus, we can stream the Realtime deposition on your iPad during the web deposition.

H&B Office

Our convenient app for iPhone and iPad gives you easy access to H&B Office, where you can view transcripts and digital exhibits, check your deposition schedule and calendar for the month, and follow Google Maps to your depo location.

Dropbox

This absolutely essential app lets you organize case documents and transcripts in one location that’s easily accessible from multiple iPad apps. Store photographs, videos, transcripts, notes and anything else related to a case, and Dropbox will synch them to all of your computers with instant updates. From Dropbox, you can download transcript, exhibits and case documents into the GoodReader, iAnnotate and Deponent apps.

Getting documents into these apps is simple and fast. From the iPad, we went to hahnbowersock.com and clicked on online access. After logging in to H&B Office and H&B eDocs, we easily found the documents we needed and moved them to Dropbox and GoodReader. For Goodreader, we downloaded documents by simply placing a “g” in front of the URL.

GoodReader

This app makes it easy to organize and access all kinds of case documents in one location. We downloaded our transcripts, exhibits and case documents into case files, where we were able annotate exhibits and transcripts for review. During a deposition, you can hand your iPad to a witness, who can view the exhibit—and even annotate it with a finger or stylus. You can take a screen shot of the annotated exhibit and email the image to the court reporter for marking. GoodReader also makes it easy to bring in and refer to earlier, fully annotated depositions.

iAnnotate

We downloaded regular and condensed PDFs of transcripts and were able to easily annotate and add notes. Exhibits in iAnnotate are easy for witnesses to mark on—and the marked image can be captured, saved and attached to the deposition.

Google Maps

You can use this app—which comes preloaded onto your iPad—to create a detailed accident scene photo. Search for the physical location of the accident, click on bird’s eye view, rotate the picture to pinpoint the exact location of the accident, then capture the photo by clicking the on/off button and the bottom center button at the same time. The image is saved in your photos file. From there, you can move the photo into the Adobe Ideas app or your Good Reader app and let the witness annotate the exact location on the photo. Save the photo with annotations and email it to the court reporter to mark. It all works perfectly and easily.

DocScanner

No photocopier handy? Not a problem. Snap a photo of any document with DocScanner, and it creates a fully searchable pdf, text or doc file you can send to your email account or upload to Dropbox, iAnnotate or other apps to review later.

LawBox

If you need to access a California or federal code, this free app makes it fast and easy. There are many more good apps in this category that put code sections at your fingertips.

Deponent

This app is a valuable tool in prepping for depositions—you can organize questions, link questions with exhibit images to create a deposition outline and enter notes during the deposition.

Zite

Need to monitor the latest events in the legal world? Zite captures articles from newspapers and magazines based on your customized interests so you can catch up during deposition breaks. And don’t forget The American Lawyer app for the current and past articles.

Angry Birds

Even the most serious iPad user needs a little stress relief. This addictive app is perfect!

We look forward to hearing about how you’re using the iPad 2 for depositions and case management. Drop us a line at ipadapps@hahnbowersock.net.

If you’re interested in learning about these apps and more, call us for a webinar or lunch demonstration—projected through our iPad 2!