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Does anyone use an iPad Pro for docs, cases, whatever? Anyone at your firm? I find it really useful to be able to annotate pdfs or deposition transcripts. No more legal pads or motion papers everywhere.

I see partners using it all the time. But they're probably checking ESPN on it more than taking notes.

For me, I use a SP4 which conceptually does the same thing. I used to have 7 notebooks, and wasn't really organized. I had to flip through pages to find what I was looking for. Now I just carry around my one device. Love it.

I wanted to add that you can't avoid paper completely. As you may already know, going through a large amount of briefs/exhibits is a huge pain in the ass on the electronic version. Plus there are a lot of confidentiality and privacy issues of having certain files on your personal computer (not sure how your firm deals with it). But it's great for notes and organization.

I have one and I would love to use it more but the firms document app restricts what you can do

OP Here.

I'm curious as to those privacy issues i.e. What can and cannot be store on your personal computer. Can you direct me to a rule or regulation? Also, I start with my firm in a few weeks so I'm very curious how remote access from home will work etc

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.

I'm curious as to those privacy issues i.e. What can and cannot be store on your personal computer. Can you direct me to a rule or regulation? Also, I start with my firm in a few weeks so I'm very curious how remote access from home will work etc

If you're talking about professional rules, it would depend on the jurisdiction. Under the ABA model rules, 1.6(c) talks about taking reasonable measures to protect confidential info. You can read comments [18] and [19] to that rule for further guidance (it's a non-exhaustive five factor test lol). New York has adopted a version of 1.6(c).

Toubro wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.

I'm curious as to those privacy issues i.e. What can and cannot be store on your personal computer. Can you direct me to a rule or regulation? Also, I start with my firm in a few weeks so I'm very curious how remote access from home will work etc

If you're talking about professional rules, it would depend on the jurisdiction. Under the ABA model rules, 1.6(c) talks about taking reasonable measures to protect confidential info. You can read comments [18] and [19] to that rule for further guidance (it's a non-exhaustive five factor test lol). New York has adopted a version of 1.6(c).

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

glitched wrote:I see partners using it all the time. But they're probably checking ESPN on it more than taking notes.

For me, I use a SP4 which conceptually does the same thing. I used to have 7 notebooks, and wasn't really organized. I had to flip through pages to find what I was looking for. Now I just carry around my one device. Love it.

I wanted to add that you can't avoid paper completely. As you may already know, going through a large amount of briefs/exhibits is a huge pain in the ass on the electronic version. Plus there are a lot of confidentiality and privacy issues of having certain files on your personal computer (not sure how your firm deals with it). But it's great for notes and organization.

what apps do you use? I want to start doing this buyt I'm not sure how to organize my stuff.

glitched wrote: For me, I use a SP4 which conceptually does the same thing.

What's a SP4?

proleteriate wrote:

glitched wrote: For me, I use a SP4 which conceptually does the same thing.

What's a SP4?

Surface Pro 4. Some Microsoft thingy.

Anyone else in biglaw use a tablet for notes, organization, etc?

I use an iPad Pro with smart pencil + smart keyboard in a biglaw transactional practice (about to go in-house, and will use it there too!).

I find it useful in the following ways:

- Sending more involved emails using the smart keyboard when I don't want to bust my laptop out during a meeting or log into VPN
- Using the smart pencil to take notes in Evernote during meetings, plan out my day, to-do list, jotting down quick talking points before a call. I LOVE how easy this is and that I can have everything saved in one place without lugging around notebooks.
- PDF expert for PDF annotations to junior associates. I also use this to refer to drafts or redlines during meetings that I may not have printed out.
- Duet Display to extend my laptop monitor into dual monitors if I'm traveling and need to do serious work.
- MS Office for edits in the draft, but I try to avoid doing this type of stuff on the iPad

Overall, I just find it creates a nicer/more personable vibe to have an iPad with me during in person meetings and negotiations vs. a laptop. I still like to write certain things vs. type, so would not find the iPad nearly as useful without the smart pencil.

For people who hand write notes with the smart pencil, do the notes have huge file sizes? Apple storage space is expensive.

dabigchina wrote:For people who hand write notes with the smart pencil, do the notes have huge file sizes? Apple storage space is expensive.

I hand write notes in OneNote a lot, and the file is huge (15+ GB). But I also clip PDFs/images with it, so I'm not sure if only the handwritten notes are to blame.

I think it depends on what you want to do.

Personally I wanted to get an iPad Pro (it's a much better tablet than the Surface Pro), but ended up with a SP4 as well. The primary issue I had is that a lot of the stuff I use for work, including websites, only works on Windows or works much better on Windows (e.g., Relativity, Ringtail, firm's remote access software).

Surface Book >> Surface Pro

Still gives you tablet functionality, you don't have to deal with the SP4 clunkiness

wiz wrote:Surface Book >> Surface Pro

Still gives you tablet functionality, you don't have to deal with the SP4 clunkiness

SB is an even worse tablet than the SP. The redeeming feature is that it's a better laptop, but that's not what I was looking for.

bk1 wrote:

wiz wrote:Surface Book >> Surface Pro

Still gives you tablet functionality, you don't have to deal with the SP4 clunkiness

SB is an even worse tablet than the SP. The redeeming feature is that it's a better laptop, but that's not what I was looking for.

I love the Surface Book. I've mainly used it as a laptop, but I like the design and tablet separation. It's also been responsive to touch/pen in my experience, and the screen is relatively easy to write on. Also really light despite having a bigger screen. Battery life isn't great though.

My main problem with the Surface Pro is that it doesn't really work as a laptop, and the keyboard and mouse are really clunky.

gaddockteeg wrote:

glitched wrote:I see partners using it all the time. But they're probably checking ESPN on it more than taking notes.

For me, I use a SP4 which conceptually does the same thing. I used to have 7 notebooks, and wasn't really organized. I had to flip through pages to find what I was looking for. Now I just carry around my one device. Love it.

I wanted to add that you can't avoid paper completely. As you may already know, going through a large amount of briefs/exhibits is a huge pain in the ass on the electronic version. Plus there are a lot of confidentiality and privacy issues of having certain files on your personal computer (not sure how your firm deals with it). But it's great for notes and organization.

what apps do you use? I want to start doing this buyt I'm not sure how to organize my stuff.

I use onenote, which I also used for law school. It's a really great program and not too hard to learn.

As a litigator who is incapable of doing anything on a phone other than sending “ok” as an email, my ipad was a life saver. It’s easy to take notes that can then be converted into a letter or pleading, send substantive emails in long meetings, court, or depos (no more getting out of an 8 hr depo with 150 unread emails to dig through), work on documents in said meetings, court, or depos, and not have to take huge binders of docs with me everywhere. But it’s less bulky and intrusive than a laptop. It’s really reduced my work stress after hours because I’m able to be more productive during long stretches of work where I otherwise would not have been.

Anonymous User wrote:As a litigator who is incapable of doing anything on a phone other than sending “ok” as an email, my ipad was a life saver. It’s easy to take notes that can then be converted into a letter or pleading, send substantive emails in long meetings, court, or depos (no more getting out of an 8 hr depo with 150 unread emails to dig through), work on documents in said meetings, court, or depos, and not have to take huge binders of docs with me everywhere. But it’s less bulky and intrusive than a laptop. It’s really reduced my work stress after hours because I’m able to be more productive during long stretches of work where I otherwise would not have been.

We talking about an iPad Pro with keyboard or just you regular run of the mill iPad. I’d love to covert my practice over to an iPad and leave the majority of my documents behind.