Techies and law

Brett Burney explains the techie world to the legal one

Recently I attended a workshop on the use of the iPad for legal professionals sponsored by the State Bar of Michigan. It was fascinating.

In preparation for same, I purchased an iPad. (My choice? A new roof for the garage or a new iPad. The garage can wait a month.) I love it and recommend it to everyone, if only for the Angry Birds game.

Brett Burney, was the speaker. He is a lawyer who spends his time on bridging the gap between the legal and technology frontiers of electronic discovery while also explaining to lawyers how to use their new toy, the iPad. 

There are so many ways the iPad can assist lawyers in their everyday lives, both professionally and personally. While the iPad can't take the place of the laptop, it can be used to view media, read documents and surf the web. It can:

• replace the stacks of paper a lawyer shuffles everyday--it is a virtual folder that holds hundreds and thousands of documents
• for hearings and trials it can hold all of the exhibits, marked and ready to be displayed to the judge and jury with a touch of a finger
• be a source of entertainment, holding music, games and movies for you to watch when a change of pace is needed. 

If you need an excuse to buy an iPad, merely think of walking into court without stacks of paper files, just your iPad. That alone should convince you of the wisdom of buying one.

Want to know more about lawyers? My collection of essays "Why do we do that?" Commentary on Lawyers and Law will be available in the fall to upload on your iPad or your favorite e-reader. Watch for it.