Law Firm: Epstein Becker & Green
Firm Size: Large
Released: January 31, 2012
Platform: iPhone (iTunes)
Cost: Free
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Epstein Becker & Green, a national labor-employment law firm, has created a mobile app resource for employers, human resources personnel, and in-house counsel. In particular, this “Wage & Hour Guide” for Employers provides access to the federal wage-hour laws and those of many states (including California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Texas, and Virginia).

The volume and range of wage and hour claims that employees have filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law equivalents have made compliance with these laws quite challenging. With this app, users can find the answers to many wage-hour questions, including citations to applicable statutes, regulations, and guidelines. The app also provides access to the firm’s wage-hour blog. The firm promises that more states will be added to the app in the near future.

Frank Spadafino, EBG’s Chief Information Officer, said,

The widespread use of iPhones and iPads, which many of us carry throughout the day, and the convenience of using an app rather than going to a website or having a hard copy, provided the perfect opportunity to introduce a new way for employers to access this valuable information.

Michael Kun, who leads EBG’s national wage and hour practice group said,

The multitude of class action and collective action lawsuits that employees have filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act and its state law counterparts have made compliance with the intricate wage and hour laws more critical than ever before… we felt it was time to develop an app that would provide information and guidance to employers on these issues.

At LFM, we are fans of law firms that create mobile substantive resources for clients and potential clients. One nice touch to this app is that EBG gives the user the option of which state guides to download into the app, instead of assuming that everyone wants all the information for all states (thus consuming more storage space on the phone). At the same time, we suggest that EBG invest a bit more in refining the graphics and UI to make the app as professional looking as the content therein.

- Law App Guy

Law Firm: Latham & Watkins LLP
Firm Size: Large
Released: September 14, 2010
Platform: iPhone (iTunes – see below)
Cost: Free
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Latham & Watkins LLP has produced a trifecta of iPhone apps based on hard copy resources previously published by the firm under the “Book of Jargon” title. The current current apps address the following areas:

• Corporate and Bank Finance
• Project Finance
• European Capital Markets and Bank Finance

These applications provide definitions to corporate and bank finance slang and terminology, including slang terms as well as legal and regulatory terminologies and acronyms. Content in the apps are not static; as new terms and definitions are published, the  content is updated automatically.

While the nature of these apps is pretty simple, LMF commends Latham for making their existing resources more accessible to clients with the application of mobile technologies.

- Law App Guy

Law Firm: Arnold & Porter LLP
Firm Size: Large
Released: December 23, 2011
Platform: iPhone (iTunes)
Cost: Free
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After publishing its first iPhone app for its Consumer Advertising Law Blog, AmLaw 100 firm Arnold & Porter LLP has produced its second iPhone app. While the total number of large firms with mobile apps is limited, there is even a smaller group of firms with more than one mobile app. The firm’s A&P LLP app presents general information about the firm, its practices, and publications.

Major segments of the app include:

• Attorney biographies searchable by name
• Office information (including directions, contact information, and an overview for each office)
• Firm publications, advisories, news, and events.
• Firm multi-media resources

Law Firm: Stephens Scown (UK)
Firm Size:  Medium
Released: May 25, 2011
Platform: iPhone (iTunes)
Cost: Free

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The posts from this blog focus on law firms who have produced their own apps or mobile websites. One alternative approach for a law firm to consider is to go mobile by sponsoring an app produced by some other organization. In the case of Stephens Scown, the UK firm launched an iPhone App in partnership with Taste of the West, the regional food and drink trade organisation for the South West of England.

The App, FoodFinder SW, provides users a map to see the location of and information about local food producers. The main purpose of the App was to help promote 800 small food and drink producers and retailers in the Westcountry region.

Many of the firm’s clients are food and drink producers, and Stephens Scown used its sponsorship of the app to enhance its visibility with and provide support for this client sector.

Simon Gawler, the head of Stephens Scown’s dedicated food and drink team, said:

As a firm, we are championing local food and drink producers across the South West – they are the lifeblood of our regional economy and the industry is big business. Many of our clients are producers and we’re delighted to be promoting their award-winning and top quality produce. The number of people using iPhones or smart phones is growing exponentially and we’re really pleased to be at the very forefront of this new technology working closely with Taste of the West. We think this new App will be really popular with the region’s suppliers and of course, the customers wherever they are in the country.