CBA Record May-June 2025

LPMT BITS & BYTES BY KEVIN THOMPSON The New Digital Legal Pad T he legal pad is ubiquitous in the practice of law. I keep a supply of paper ones nearby at my home and office desks. (Did you know that the color yellow became common for legal pads because using white paper cost more?) However, my pre ferred method now is to use a digital device for taking notes whenever possible. This ensures that my notes are available to me whichever office I happen to be in that day. Before I regularly adopted my current system, I would be 30 miles away from some handwritten note that would be essential for the work of the day. In this article I explore the major options for “digital legal pads” as I see them. What ever platform you choose, the features to look for are ease of capture, the device’s battery life, how it feels, and how it syncs across platforms. In addition to note taking, many can be used to mark up documents. The output of these devices can be imported into practice management software, too. iPads My current capture method involves an iPad Mini, with an Apple Pencil, using Microsoft OneNote as the application for taking notes. OneNote handles the syncing of the notes across platforms, so the notes as taken appear on all my work devices. I have notebooks for different purposes, such as networking, client calls, and firm meetings. I use a screen protector which mimics the feel of paper, so it’s not as awkward writing on glass with the Pencil as it would be without the protector. The significant downside of this approach is battery life, as the iPad requires a com plete recharge every few days if not sooner. The Pencil also needs charging, but my device keeps it charged when it is magnetically attached, so it works well provided I keep the iPad charged. I like the iPad Mini’s smaller size, as it feels like a small notebook. Others may appre ciate a larger screen. If so, perhaps the 11-inch iPad Air or iPad Pro could be a good option. However, larger-screened iPads, such as the 13-inch models of the Air and Pro, are less optimal for note taking in my opinion, but could be good for artists. It’s hard for me to recommend the current base-model iPad for note taking as it uses the original generation pencil or the USB-C version of the Pencil. Neither of those can charge magnetically by attaching to the tablet, and its processor is slower than the one the iPad Mini was recently updated to. Still, it would work in a pinch, and I used an older one before I got my current Mini.

Other Tablets In meetings today I often notice people using the Remarkable 2 tablet, which is the older version of their e-ink based tablet that has been out for a few years. These are thin and light but have only black and white screens. The advantages of e-ink screens include long battery life, measured in weeks. Last year the Remark able Paper Pro was introduced, which is larger and has a color e-ink display. The tablet uses its own proprietary software and service to sync notes across platforms, which could be considered a disadvantage. As for advantages, many people praise the tablet for its paper-like feel when writing. They also praise it for being a unitasker, as it is only good for taking notes. An iPad, by comparison, could lead you into distraction with checking email or other functions instead of writing. If I were starting from scratch with my personal system, I’d seriously consider the Remark able, but I’m not sure I’d want to get rid of OneNote as the collection system. I can also recommend other e-ink based tablets, especially the Boox tablets and the Kindle Scribe. The Boox tablets are Android-based, so some people have managed to more directly interface them with their practice management systems. Some of these tablets also have color e-ink displays. The Scribe has the advantage of being in the Kindle family of devices, so it is easier to use it to read Kindle books, although other tablets also have Kindle apps. Both devices have their merits. As you may imagine, the decision between any of these options will depend on your circumstances and your technol ogy ecosystem. What works for one will not work for all. Still, tablets are a prod uct category where the productivity ben efits can be tremendous, so I encourage you to research options. Feel free to let me know how your personal system works.

Kevin A. Thompson heads the intellectual property practice at Levin Ginsburg, where he is a partner; he also chairs the CBA’s Law Practice Management and Technology Committee and co-chairs the International and Foreign Law Committee. He receives no compensation by vendors for products mentioned in this column.

44 May/June 2025