In today’s world, lawyers who don’t embrace the latest technology are not only shortchanging their clients and themselves. They may soon run afoul of their ethical obligations as well.

That was the central premise behind an ABA Techshow presentation Thursday on new technologies that can enhance a lawyer’s practice without the need to acquire advanced computer programming skills.

The presentation, “Use of Technology in Preparing to Litigate: the Latest Smart Litigation Management Tools,” was led by two tech-savvy practitioners: Philadelphia-area lawyer and legal technology consultant Dan Siegel and veteran Chicago trial lawyer Martin T. Tully, national chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman’s electronic discovery and evidence practice.

“For lawyers, technology matters,” Tully said by way of introduction. “It makes us far more efficient at what we do.”

For nearly an hour, Siegel and Tully led the audience on a fast-paced overview of several different technological tools that lawyers can use to enhance their practice and achieve better results for their clients in every phase of a case, from pretrial investigation to the presentation of evidence.

Products and services mentioned included case management software and workflow wizards; HotDocs and Pathagoras for document assembly; remote collection devices for electronically stored information; TextMap and LiveNote as transcript management software; TrialDirector for evidence presentation; whiteboard apps that allow drawing on a simulated canvas, and jury selection apps like iJury, Jury Duty and Jury Box.

And all was said with an eye on a proposed amendment to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct that would require lawyers to have a basic understanding of the benefits and risks of technology in order to stay abreast of changes in the law and its practice.

With all of that technology in play, Tully closed the presentation with two practical recommendations: Always carry an extension cord and extra batteries.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/a_sampling_of_smart_litigation_management_tools/

Ted Brooks
Law Technology News

After a lengthy trial and engaging voir dire without computer assistance, Orlando, Fla.-based attorney Lawrence Williamson teamed up with computer technician Sean Ham (who assisted Williamson with trial logistics and document management) to come up with iJury, an affordable iPad app that would enable attorneys to “concentrate on the art of voir dire and move away from the excessive note taking and paper shuffling.”

Digital convergence is an admirable charge for any app and fits well with the iPad vision. I’ve reviewed several apps designed for jury selection (voir dire) and monitoring and, although they all appear to be helpful, the fiercest competitor to iPad apps remains the venerable Post-it Notes.

Some things just seem to work better the old-fashioned way. Perhaps one reason is that entering data on the iPad, although it can be comprehensive, takes most of us longer than scribbling on sticky notes. While it is likely just a simple matter of adjusting your workflow to input data on the iPad, I still see more people using the familiar little yellow squares than apps such as iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty, or even full-feature software applications such as Jury Box.

One thing sticky notes can’t do is perform data analysis, but that is true of most iPad apps for voir dire. Most apps do a decent job of storing and retrieving juror information, but don’t do much in the way of looking at the big picture. iJury is different. Once you’ve entered personal information on each juror, you’re able to view the bigger picture, literally, in a series of dynamic charts. These bar charts indicate trends in your jury pool, including overall indications of positive, negative, or neutral scores for your case, as well as a desktop view of a jury’s gender and racial balance and socioeconomic status.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a high-altitude view of iJury that can help flag potential issues with your currently seated panel of jurors. Additionally, a sample set of common voir dire questions is included, which may be scored positively or negatively for each juror according to their responses — and you have the option to add your own questions.

Figure 2

Launching iJury the first time brings up a nice tutorial video, which you may also view online. I thought this was a nice touch, allowing you to get a quick feel of what the app is all about and how to handle each task. The video can also be accessed again later by tapping the “Info” icon in the Case browser.

Figure 3

In comparison to other apps for jury selection, iJury requires a similar amount of input for each potential juror, and focuses only on the currently seated panel vis-a-vis the entire jury pool. When using the iPad in this manner you would certainly want to enter all of your juror information ahead of time from their questionnaire responses.

Figure 4

Overall, iJury appears to be a nice alternative for iPad-wielding attorneys and trial consultants looking to clean up the counsel table and keep it free from sticky notes during voir dire. And at only $14.99, it won’t break the bank.

:::: PRODUCT INFORMATION ::::

Manufacturer: Dynamis Law
Product: iJury for iPad
Price: $14.99

Reprinted with permission from the January 19 issue of Law Technology News. ©2012 ALM Media Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. All rights reserved.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Jan 09, 2012 -

Dynamis Law, LLC, announces the new release of its flagship iPad app, iJury™ v2.0, developed to assist attorneys with voir dire.

“The goal in creating iJury™ was to design a tool that could take advantage of the freedom the iPad provides.We wanted to create an elegant, intuitive app that communicates useful information to the user in a meaningful way.  With iJury™ v2.0, we’ve met that goal,” said Sean Ham, Co-Founder, Dynamis Law, LLC.

Trial lawyers must make use of the best tools to try their cases, and each trial begins with jury selection.  With iJury™, attorneys are able to concentrate on the art of voir dire and forget about the excessive note taking and paper shuffling that is all too common.

“This is a great app! It provides the information I want, is intuitive, very easy to use…Support is very responsive,”said The Doggette Law Firm, Washington D.C.

“I use iJury™ myself.  Before iJury™, I would look at the seating chart and my hand written notes and try to piece together how I felt about certain jurors.  Using iJury™, I see the information relevant to keeping or striking jurors.  I’m able to make use of all the information available to me and can therefore choose the very best juries for my clients,” said Lawrence Williamson, Co-Founder, Dynamis Law, LLC.

iJury™ at a glance:

• Visual cues indicate whether potential Jurors are positive or negative to your case
• See early signs of gender, race, or wealth bias
• Keep notes on Jurors of interest and other details, all in one place

v2.0 feature additions:

• Ability to seat Jurors according to number and/or name
• Advanced Group Scoring functionality
• Track peremptory strikes and dismissals for cause
• Updated Dynamic Bar Charts
• Built in video tutorial
• Many more

To download, search for iJury™ on the App Store or visit http://ijuryapp.com.
# # #
Dynamis Law, LLC specializes in designing iOS iPad software for attorneys and Human Resource Professionals.
http://www.prlog.org/11767227-attention-litigators-improve-your-jury-selection-results-now-with-ijury.html