This page covers legal apps designed for lawyers, mostly relating to the access of legal materials (judgments, case reports and so on).
See also
legal apps designed for individuals (usually developed by lawyers, hoping to attract clients).
Click here for an introduction to legal apps by Alex Heshmaty.
The legal apps for UK lawyers, so far
Courtsearch from
Legal Training provides details of every court in England and Wales, including addresses and postcodes, opening hours and relevant contacts. It even shows daily lists for the High Court and above.
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The CrimeLine app from Crimeline aims to ease the searchability of Bailii on mobile devices (iPhone at the moment, others on the way). It also allows for the bookmarking of cases, as well as a sharing function so that relevant case law can be forwarded to contacts.
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d2u Transcriber from d2u (UK) LLP allows users to create, edit and complete a digital recording, following which the digital file is transcribed by a "virtual secretary" 24 hours a day. The service claims to deliver a fully transcribed Word Document within 60 minutes if the recording is less than 5 minutes in length, and in 24 hours if it's over 5 minutes.
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iLegal from Engraved Ltd aims to provide access to primary legislation on the iPhone (although
concerns have been raised by Scott Vine regarding its claim "to access the revised text" - see The iLegal iPhone app if you have a subscription to the Internet Newsletter for lawyers).
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Legal Terms from Lexis Nexis provides subscription access to a comprehensive catalogue containing the meanings of various legal terminology, as well as the legislation in which the particular term was defined. It also provides access to key cases in which the term was used, and links to related terminology.
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On The Case from Lexis Nexis provides subscription access to a wide range of case law. It allows cases to be searched by name, citation or key word, and results are displayed with a summary.
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The PocketLawyer from Share Bright Ltd provides a quick reference guide to the most common offences sentenced at the Magistrates' Court, for use by individuals appearing in court or their legal representatives.
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Sweet and Maxwell have launched ProView, an iPad app designed for reading their new range of ebooks. The first title available on the ProView platform is Archbold: Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, which has been in publication since 1822. Company research has revealed that almost a quarter of solicitors who specialise in litigation are already using an iPad to access legal information, and this trend is only likely to increase. Aside from saving lawyers valuable time and literally lightening their loads, ebooks can be automatically updated, reflecting any changes to the law instantly and efficiently.
Software, tools and services available for developing legal apps
Appcelerator provides a free and open source app development platform - Titanium. As well as allowing for the development of apps for both Android and iPhone mobile devices, it easily integrates with social media technology, and harnesses the geo-location, maps, and compass functions of smartphones. Only Javascript, HTML, and CSS skills are required to program using this app.
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Corona, from Ansca, provides a development platform which allows the development of apps for both Android and iPhone mobile devices. It automatically scales any content created, to allow for its delivery across multiple devices with differenct screen sizes, including iPads and other tablets. Corona is particularly good for developing visually appealing apps, as it harnesses the graphics power of OpenGL.
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Phonegap from Nitobi is an open source app generator, which allows anyone with a working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript to develop cross-platform apps.
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Here are a few USA legal apps for lawyers, for general interest
Black's Law Dictionary from Westlaw is used worldwide but its legal terms - which are in excess of 45,000 - are primarily those in use within the US legal system.
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The Fastcase App from Fastcase Inc. provides a free, searchable library of American cases and statutes for iPhone users.
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The US arm of LexisNexis has produced the Lexis Advance app for its Lexis Advance research service. The service is currently available for the iPhone, with an iPad version in the pipeline.
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Scadden Starts Here is a recruitment app for trainee lawyers considering a career in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Amongst other things, it provides information on the firm's recruitment and interview process, as well as its summer associate program. It also gives key facts about the firm, its offices and practice areas.
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The U.S. District Courts' Guide is an iPhone app from Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustad. It provides information on all the United States District Courts and includes a national map and separate maps of each of the 11 U.S. Circuits, as well as state and district-level maps.
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WestlawNext, a US version of Thomson Reuters Westlaw UK (in association with Sweet & Maxwell), provides WestlawNext Mobile, a research app for the iPhone, as well as across other mobile platforms including Android.
Oxford Dictionaries Online defines an app as "a self-contained program or piece of software designed to fulfil a particular purpose;
an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device". It is the latter half of the definition - especially in
relation to iPhones and other smartphones - which popularised the term, and it is this meaning with which this article is concerned.
The late Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011) was largely responsible for the emergence and swift growth of apps, following the phenomenal
success of Apple's iPhone, which was released to the market in 2007. By March 2011 Apple had sold over 100 million iPhones worldwide,
such was their appeal. Although iPhones are largely generic in their design and customisation options are limited, the ability
to download apps allows its users to extend the functionality of their handsets. Hundreds of thousands of apps - which can be
developed and distributed by anyone with a basic understanding of computer programming - are available for download from
Apple's App Store, and range from retro games to geo-positioning
programs showing locally reviewed takeaways, to those with more business-centric purposes. The multitude of apps available led to
Apple's catchphrase - There's an app for that.
Many apps are free and generate money through advertising, but others need to be purchased.
In the face of Apple's initial dominance of the app market, Google developed the rival Android operating system, which spawned a vast
array of smartphones taking advantage of Google's version of the App Store (the Android Market).
Android-enabled phones are generally far more customisable than iPhones and its apps are easier to distribute, with fewer restrictions.
Android phones also tend to be less expensive than their iPhone counterparts, with lots of manufacturers including HTC, Samsung and
LG vying for market share. This variety and affordability has resulted in the solid growth of Android phone ownership, opening the
floodgates for Android app development and providing some serious competition for Apple.
Forward thinking law firms have always sought to harness web technologies to promote their services and keep in touch with their
existing client base. Web 1.0 technologies such as the humble website and email newsletters led to increasingly interactive Web 2.0
concepts such as blogging, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. The beginnings of Web 3.0 can be seen in certain apps, such
as those making use of a mobile phone's geo-location data or its abilities to make sense of its surroundings. Current examples of
this extension of web technology include proximity sensitive directory services which list the closest restaurants, pubs - or law firms -
and QR codes which can, for instance, allow a potential house buyer to scan an estate agent's sign with a phone camera and
immediately view information on the particular home for sale. Augmented reality, artificial intelligence, personalisation and the
Semantic Web are the next steps for Web 3.0.
If you have developed, or know about, a legal app for lawyers, or for individuals, please contact
Alex Heshmaty.
Alex is freelance writer, web designer and legal technology specialist.
For more information see:
www.alexheshmaty.me.uk www.legaltechie.co.uk
Legal apps for lawyers (software applications for mobile devices)
