Tablets + The Cloud = A Powerful Mobile Presentation Tool

By Martin T. Tully – February 7, 2012

Technology has permitted lawyers to untether from a desktop or laptop in the courtroom and instead take their presentations with them wherever they go. More and more lawyers are finding that tablet computers like the iPad can access powerful apps that help them present their case in any setting, whether at trial, during mediation, in settlement conferences, or in evidentiary hearings. However, to bring the documents, exhibits, and other content to your tablet, you don’t want to rely on email or clunky wired connections. Instead, to maximize the potential of your tablet and other portable devices, you need to embrace the cloud.

File synchronization/backup services like Dropbox are a great place to store documents and exhibits and access them from your tablet when you need them. Dropbox is a free, multi-tenancy cloud service that lets you bring all your exhibits, documents, presentations, and videos anywhere. For example, you can import files and folders from Dropbox into trial-presentation applications such as TrialPad that are specifically designed for use on a tablet computer. Any file you save to Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, tablets, smartphones, and even the Dropbox website, dropbox.com. Dropbox also makes it easy to share with others, whether they are clients, co-counsel, experts, or even opposing counsel. Shared folders allow people to work together on the same projects and documents by inviting them to view the contents of a folder you manage. It’ll be as if you saved the folder to their computers. Users are able to see other people’s changes instantly.

Alternatively, there is CloudStor, which allows you to create your own local, on-site cloud storage system. CloudStor is a personal storage solution that also allows you to freely access and share exhibits, documents, presentations, videos, and much more with anyone, anywhere, through your own private cloud. All you do is buy the hardware and link it to the Internet, and you are ready to go. To access your content from myCloudStor.com, you simply log in using your registered email address and password. You will immediately see all of the files stored on your CloudStor account and any CloudStor-enabled devices you own. You can then share, stream, upload, or download to and from your CloudStor account from anywhere in the world—no technical expertise or advanced networking knowledge is required.

Of course, for any tool or service that relies on a reliable Internet connection, check first to be sure that one is available in the setting in which you will be accessing or presenting your materials.

Finally, some lawyers might be reluctant to put their trial exhibits and other client materials into the cloud due to concerns over potential ethical issues. These concerns should subside with the recent issuance of several state ethics opinions considering the propriety of lawyers’ use of third-party service providers and certain cloud computing technologies and services. Perhaps the most comprehensive opinion is Pennsylvania’s, which indicates that lawyers may ethically allow client confidential material to be stored in the cloud, provided the lawyer takes reasonable care to assure that all such materials remain confidential and reasonable safeguards are employed to ensure that the data is protected from breaches, data loss, and other risks. Opinions from Oregon and North Carolina share a similar approach, advising lawyers that they may use cloud tools as long as they take reasonable steps to ensure that their clients’ confidentiality is preserved. Significantly, these opinions warn that lawyers must stay abreast of evolving technologies to assess the risk of interception and potential alternative technologies that may reduce the relevant risks at reasonable costs.

Keywords: litigation, technology, tablets, cloud computing

Martin T. Tully is a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in Chicago, Illinois.

Copyright © 2012, American Bar Association. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the American Bar Association, the Section of Litigation, this committee, or the employer(s) of the author(s).