The 5 Best Legal Apps that Every Lawyer Needs

Thanks to the rise of mobile apps, we’re all increasingly connected in the 21st century. That goes for attorneys and legal professionals, too – the online marketplace is jammed with legal apps made to make your job easier. While there is no one “perfect” app for every legal professional out there, there are some that come pretty darn close – here are five of the very best law apps available now that will help you practice law in the new millennium.

1. Fastcaseg

Out in the field and need a read on some case law in a hurry? Fastcase has you covered. Available for iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone, Fastcase can provide you with the on-the-go research you need. If it was good enough to win the New Product Award from the American Association of Law Libraries, it’s good enough for your practice.

2. Depose

Are you constantly taking depositions? Toss out that dog-eared legal pad and upgrade to Depose. Designed to keep track of the question-and-answer format that depositions fall into, it’s easy to input questions, keep track of answers, and then export them once you’re done. Right now, Depose is only available for Android, but it’s only a matter of time before the developers add iOS support as well.

3. CamScanner

Document management can be a real chore when you’re in the field. That’s where CamScanner comes in. Available for both iOS and Android, this legal app harnesses the power of your mobile device’s camera to generate PDF documents that you can then annotate, share, and upload on the fly. Password protection provides high levels of security for sensitive documents, while built-in optical character recognition can even pick out text from images and import it into a PDF that can then be edited.

4. Black’s Law Dictionary (9th Edition)

Thought you had seen the last of this big behemoth after law school? You should have known better. There’s no hauling that brick of a law dictionary around with you, but you can still access 45,000 terms at the swipe of a screen. An added bonus is the app’s WestLaw login integration. The only downside is the app is an iOS exclusive, but there’s an Android version in the works.

5. NotaryCam

While it’s different than the rest of the legal apps on this list, NotaryCam is perfect for those attorneys and other legal professionals that are always in need of something notarized. Now you don’t have to hunt down the closest notary public – just upload your documents to NotaryCam and a notary will electronically notarize anything you want. NotaryCam is only available on iOS devices at the moment but that’s likely to change.

Legal Apps for the New Millennium and Beyond

The 5 legal apps above aren’t the only ones out there – that much is obvious. And it’s important to note that as an attorney, paralegal, or another legal professional, your mileage may vary. That being said, the digital landscape is constantly evolving – not so different than the legal one – so keep your eyes peeled for new and exciting legal apps coming up on the horizon!