Over the past few years, I have been getting more and more questions from lawyers who want to run their practices on Macs. Often these questions are from new solo practitioners, but increasingly I hear similar things from managing partners in larger firms.

Small wonder, really. Between Windows Vista (RIP), software-as-a-service, and the Apple stock chart, it just makes sense for lawyers to at least consider whether they can run their practices on Macs.

There are lots of great resources for Mac-using lawyers on the web, so I thought I would take a few moments to collect some of them here. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just the resources that I am most familiar with. If you have some other great ideas for lawyers who use Macs, please leave them in the comments below.

 

Lawyers Using Macs

Some of the best ideas, insights and information a Mac-using lawyer can find will come from the burgeoning community of users. Ground zero for this information is this Google group:

Macs in Law Offices

There are a lot of great websites out there for lawyers who use Macs, but one of my favorites is:

The Mac Lawyer

 

Practice Management Software

The rise of software-as-a-service practice management software means that it is easier than ever to run your law practice on a Mac. There are several service providers in this space, but here are two that I am familiar with and have looked at fairly extensively:

Clio

RocketMatter

 

Accounting Software

Similarly, software-as-a-service accounting options have also multiplied. I haven't spent as much time with these programs as I would like, but I've encountered several lawyers using these two:

Freshbooks

Quickbooks Online

I haven't actually met any lawyers who are using this next solution, but I am very intrigued by their less-is-more approach, which squares up nicely with my thoughts on legal technology.

Less Accounting

 

iPhones and iPads

I absolutely love my iPad and I can't wait for the iPhone to come to Verizon. I've met a ton of lawyers over the years who love their iPhones and a growing number that loves their iPads. Here are a couple of places I go when I want answers or insights on these devices:

iPhone, J.D.

Just Another iPad Blog

 

Running Windows on a Mac

A lot of the Mac-wielding lawyers I speak with want to be able to run Windows on their Macs. Mac OSX includes the ability to do this without the need for any other software, but it has some limitations. Another way to skin that cat is to use a 3rd party software program to run Windows virtually on your Mac. Here are two of the programs that do this:

Parallels

VMware Fusion

If you are really interested in digging in and getting your geek on, here is a thorough review from MacTech comparing these two products.

 

Word Processing & Spreadsheets

There are a couple of ways to handle  word processing and spreadsheets on a Mac. I begin from the assumption that no lawyer buys a Mac because she is in love with Microsoft Office. So, while you can purchase Office for Mac (new update coming in 2011) or run the beta of Office on-line in the cloud, I'll offer a couple of non-Microsoft ways to get your basic office functions done.

Google Docs and Zoho both have nice options for cloud-based word processors. As with all things cloud-based, lawyers need to make sure to read the Terms of Service and are comfortable that the Terms comport with a lawyers ethical duties under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The option that I use on my Mac most frequently is the free, open source office software called Open Office. I use it extensively to work on documents and regularly to work on spreadsheets and I've found it to be a great alternative to MS Word and Excel.

 

General Mac Information

Last, using a Mac puts a lawyer into a vibrant and enthusiastic community of users who really love their computers. Consequently, there are countless sites and blogs that produce top quality content about Macs. My current favorite is:

Minimal Mac

The site provides consistent, interesting information on Macs, without clobbering me with 100 new articles per week.

 

Enjoy your Mac!

The How To Geek lays out a simple system in a Lifehacker article for using Google Docs and Microsoft Word together to get the best of both programs:

Microsoft Office 2010 is about to be released, and you aren't sure if you should upgrade or switch to Google Docs. But have you considered using the best features of both, together? Today we'll run down how to do just that...

If you are still paying for ink, paper and a second phone line so that you can receive the occasional fax, Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog offers some alternatives and insights:

Well, if your office is like most law offices, you still have the trusty fax machine and a business phone line dedicated to your fax number. You may not be motivated to change that at the moment, but I hope to make you reconsider that...

Just as lawyers have started to get comfortable with online word processing as a concept, along comes another big shakeup: Microsoft and Facebook just partnered to create Docs.com, an online word processor. Lifehacker explains it this way:

Microsoft and Facebook just launched Docs.com, a document creation and sharing web site that integrates with Microsoft Office and Facebook. You log into Docs using your Facebook account. Once there, you can view shared documents...

Don't you love when you put on a jacket you haven't worn in months and find a $20 bill in the pocket?  It's like winning the lottery, without the inconvenience of having to live in a mobile home or make due with fewer than 32 teeth. 

I love it out of all proportion.

I feel like I hit the software lottery this week.  Several months ago, I downloaded Evernote.  Evernote is a free, web 2.0 note taking software application that allows you to store data in many different formats organized into notebooks. 

There are a lot of cool things about it, but one of my favorites is its ability to sync information between a PC, a Mac and the cloud. The trouble is that I couldn't come up with anything that I really wanted to do with it.  For some reason, the notebook metaphor didn't really speak to me and I couldn't wrap my head around a use for Evernote that I wasn't already doing in some other way.  And of course, the phrase, "if ain't broke, don't fix it" ran through my head.

At lunch the other day with a lawyer friend of mine (also an Evernote user) we started spitballing about different ways to use the application, and I finally happened across one that works for me:  I've decided to press Evernote into service as a CRM application, to keep track of contacts that I make networking and marketing my practice management assistance program. 

Although it is early going using Evernote in this capacity, I am pretty pumped about it so far. I can input data in a bunch of different ways, tag each "note" in countless ways and search and sort the data very easily.  I don't bother actually keeping the contact info in there as I'm more or less locked into using Outlook and a Blackberry for that, but I use Evernote to keep all the emails, notes, and PDF documents I need about each contact. 

I create one "summary" note for each contact so I can easily find the most recent activity, and then each additional item is a note, tagged by contact. I find it to be just the right amount of CRM for me -- it would not do for someone used a heavy duty CRM for tracking leads, etc, but in my experience, most lawyers don't know what CRM is, let alone have a powerhouse program for it that they are wedded to.

If you don't have a CRM program you love yet and you would like a free, simple way to keep up with your marketing and business development efforts, take a look at Evernote. Best of all, it won't cost you one cent from that $20 bill you found in your jacket.