THE AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE Continuing Legal Education Android Apps for Lawyers. December 13, 2012 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast

Transcription

1 1 THE AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE Continuing Legal Education Android Apps for Lawyers Cosponsored with the ABA Law Practice Management Section December 13, 2012 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast Android Apps for Lawyers By Britt Lorish Affinity Consulting Group, LLC Roanoke, Virginia David G. Ries Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Daniel J. Siegel Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel LLC Havertown, Pennsylvania

2 2 ANDROID APPS FOR LAWYERS December 2012 Adapted from course materials prepared Britt Lorish for ABA TECHSHOW Updated by Dave Ries and Dan Siegel. Introduction Google s Android operating system has quickly become the dominant system used to operate smartphones other than BlackBerrys, iphones and Windows phones, and its share of the tablet market is also increasing. In recent months we have seen the release of the Google Nexus tablet, the Galaxy SIII and HTC Droid DNA smartphones, and the Kindle HD. All of these devices run on Android and have received glowing reviews from critics and users. According to International Data Corporation, the Android operating system was included on three out of every four smartphones shipped during the third quarter of Out of the million smartphones made in that quarter, 136 million ran on Android. Not surprisingly, the number of apps that is, software programs that run on the Android operating system has also grown, to more than 700,000 as of October Android use among lawyers and their staffs continues to grow and will expand as the number of apps increases, particularly those that help attorneys to be more productive. The increased use of Android devices by the legal profession also means that attorneys are purchasing these devices and bringing them to IT and saying: Make this work for me with the firm s technology. Fortunately, that request is becoming more of a reality. What is a Droid? While there has been significant focus on the itoys (iphones and ipads), the Droid has also seen a tremendous growth over the past two years. Droid is short for Android, a term coined (and licensed) by George Lucas of Star Wars fame. The Droid is actually an operating system (OS) not a device. More importantly, it is based on an open source code, which means that multiple contributors have created this operating system under the Open Handset Alliance, under the direction of Google. Because of this movement, Droid has a very close integration with everything Google. There are several interesting comparisons between the Droid and the iphone: The Droid OS is open source code, while the iphone OS (ios) is proprietary. There are more than 40 manufacturers of smart phones that utilize the Droid OS; Apple manufacturers the iphone. There are roughly 800,000 apps available for the Droid; there are roughly 700,000 apps available for the iphone.

3 3 The Droid OS holds approximately 58% of the market; Apple about 33%; BlackBerry about 3%; and Windows Mobile the bulk of the rest. What is an App? An app is merely a computer program that works on one of these devices, and is analogous to the software/programs that run on your own computer. Where do I finds apps? For the Droid, there are several places, although two sources Google Play and the Amazon Appstore for Android dominate the market. Sometimes, you can buy an app from either source, although both have their positives and negatives. In most cases, you can simply purchase apps (even when apps are free, you still have to buy them) directly from your device. There are plenty of free apps, but most of the apps that charge a fee are minimal when compared to software costs for the PC applications. One prerequisite to buying apps from either store, and most websites, is that you need to have an account at the website. Most Android devices will require you to have a Google address just to use the device, and most users choose to use that address as the default for device-related purchases. Regardless of the site from which you obtain your apps, you should be careful to assure that none includes any viruses or malware. Security? Attorneys have an ethical and a legal duty to take competent and reasonable measures to safeguard confidential client information; in addition, they may be subject to other 2

4 4 duties to protect this data, including statutes, regulations and contracts. Thus, the obligation to protect client data applies to the use of smartphones and other mobile devices, which can be lost or stolen, hacked, infected by malware, and have their communications intercepted all exposing confidential data. Consequently, you should (a) follow the device manufacturer s instructions for secure setup, (b) use security apps that have anti-virus and anti-malware protection, and (c) use apps that allow for remote wiping if your Droid if lost. A popular security app, Lookout Mobile Security, is discussed on page 16. We also recommend backing up your device; there are a number of apps that will allow for scheduled backups of your device online. Secure Set-Up Set Screen Lock. (with password or PIN or swipe pattern) Set Screen Timeout. Encrypt Phone / Tablet. (Honeycomb / Ice Cream Sandwich / Jellybean only) (Use 3 rd party app with earlier versions) Add find / lock / wipe app. Add security app. Some of Our Favorite Apps So what are our favorite apps? Well, we thought you would never ask! This whole program is about Android Apps for Attorneys. So, without further adieu, here is our list: Cloud Storage Products Dropbox, the most popular cloud storage app, integrates with numerous other apps and programs, including cloud-based case management and document management programs. Dropbox lets desktop and laptop users store information and automatically syncs files among computers. 3

5 5 For more general use, Amazon Cloud is an easy and inexpensive way to store data, including documents and photos, on Amazon s servers, so that you can access them anywhere. There has been considerable discussion about confidentiality and security in attorneys use of cloud services. Before using them for information relating to clients, be sure to understand the risks and take necessary measures for security. For recent examples of ethics opinions in this area, see Massachusetts Bar Association Ethics Opinion and Pennsylvania Bar Association Ethics Opinion Pogoplug, a private cloud, provides the ability to store large amounts of data while maintaining full control of your firm s data. 4