LexisNexis in your pocket

LexisNexis UK have launched a couple of new iPhone apps for 2012 under the Lexis Library banner, which go beyond the traditional eBook format.

On the Case

This is basically "case law on the go". You can search for cases by the names of the claimant and/or defendant and browse the keywords, case digest and citations.

The search seems to be relatively flexible rather than needing painfully exact matches (a search for Russell v Northern brought up Russell v Northern Bank Development Corporation Limited and also Northern Assurance Co v Russell).

I didn't try out any particularly esoteric case law, but it seems like a good tool for accessing key case law on the move.

Legal Terms

This is a supercharged legal dictionary. A search for a legal term gives you:

• A brief definition of the term
• Relevant statutes in which it was defined
• Key cases concerning the use of the term
• Key definitions from practitioner texts
• Links to related terms

It seems to have a few gaps (a search for "disclosure" returns definitions relating to disclosure of documents in litigation rather than disclosure against warranties in share purchase agreements), but generally it seems fairly comprehensive.

The mobile dimension

Both apps seem to operate without requiring any Internet connection, which is a real bonus for mobile use where WiFi or reliable 3G may not always be available.

I presume this means that updates will be needed from time to time to keep them current.

The searches do take a couple of seconds to come back, but I guess that there is a lot of material to search through (although the downloads are not particularly large).

What's the cost?

Only existing LexisNexis subscribers need apply, as you need a valid login to use the apps.

The apps themselves are free downloads so if you are a subscriber you may as well give them a test drive.

Digital downtime

This is one of those posts where I don't practice what I preach. If I am watching TV I will pretty much have one eye on Twitter on my iPhone or be checking emails or catching up on RSS feeds.

However, since our son arrived on the scene last June, I have thought more about setting an example for him...

It may be hopelessly unrealistic and old fashioned, but I would like to think that when he is a little older we will be able to go out for dinner and he will sit and talk to us rather than being glued to his PSP (or whatever has replaced them by that stage).

To be fair, when I spend time with him in the evenings and weekends (or the occasional day when I am working from home) I do put down  the iPhone and give him my undivided attention... not least because otherwise he is more interested in the shiny screen than in me!

I think this is one of the (many) parenting challenges of the 21st century... how to set an example to our kids about how important it is to put down the gadgets from time to time and focus on the people who are sitting around the table with you.

After all,  if we don't do it then how can we expect them to?

How do other parents deal with this? Is the answer to enforce some kind of "digital downtime", or should we just embrace the inevitable... a Neuromancer reality where the implants in our brain keep us constantly connected to the matrix?

Photo credit and attribution:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethanhein/ / CC BY 2.0



The iPad - worth the wait?

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the long awaited launch of Apple's new tablet and how it could be the missing link to the paperless law office.

Now we have seen it in the flesh (or at least on Apple's website) - how does the reality compare to my expectations?

The boring truth is that the rumours seem to have been pretty close to the mark this time around and Apple unveiled a tablet device with a 10-inch multitouch screen.

There is an ebook (sorry, iBook!) reader and store built into the device and iWork will be available as well, which should allow decent functionality for using Word and Excel documents.

The physical keyboard options are a real winner - for me you need to be able to type properly on a device like this.

There are a couple of real disappointments for me at least:-

• no multitasking so far as I can see (?!) forgivable on a phone, but on a device this size?
• no flash support judging by the sites Steve Jobs browsed in the keynote.

The US price is much lower than I expected (from $499 to $829 depending on the version). At the current exchange rate this would be about £310 in the UK, but I presume we will see the usual special Apple exchange rate of about $1 to £1.

I guess at least the lack of carrier tie-in will make it easy to import a Wifi version from the US.

The features I was really looking for (document reading and annotation) will probably have to come via an App if there is the demand for them.

At the moment I'm not quite sure how tempted I am. You still need an iPhone and a computer and I'm not quite sure what I could do with the iPad when on the move that I can't do with the iPhone.

I think I will be hanging back to see what the feedback is like from the early adoptors - and see what Apps come out for it.