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On the heels of O’Melveny’s FCPA app, Latham has created an app called AB&C Laws. As described by the app’s iTunes profile:

The AB&C Laws Application sets out anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws in thirteen of the world’s major economies. Users have access to the legislative framework, the key elements of offences, extra-territorial application, limitation periods, enforcement, potential penalties, and official guidance including (where available) steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of liability for bribery and corruption.

Law Firm Mobile appreciates the creation of substantive resources by law firms, including Latham’s app. Even so, we have higher design aspirations than what has been produced so far from AmLaw firms.  In Latham’s case, one area for critique is the text-heavy nature of the information in the app. As a legal resource, it is not surprising that there is a significant amount of textual information. Even so, Latham should consider some design enhancements to make the text easier to read. There are plenty of news and non-legal resource apps that are pleasant to use and read and thus can be used as a model. Personal and business users have high expectations for good interfaces. Law firms should meet those expectations.

On a separate note, surprisingly, Latham’s app is iPad only. Denying support for iPhones really limits the total potential audience for the app.

He starts his post reporting on the fact that the New York Times refreshed its mobile web site and quoting the NYT Editor of Emerging Platforms who stated at the end of 2012,

In the next 12–18 months, many news organizations will cross the 50 percent threshold where more users are visiting on phones and tablets than on desktop computers and laptops.

Accordingly, given this trend, Kevin concludes that law firms must focus on publishing for mobile platforms, not the desktop. Making mobile the priority includes making sure one’s content is easily accessible  and shared on mobile devices. He also recommends that you read as much content as possible on mobile devices to fully appreciate how content is best consumed on smartphones and tablets.

Read the full article here.

Some of the mobile highlights from the report include:

• To read general business information,
  • 53% of in-house respondents use a smartphone.
  • 39% of in-house respondents use a tablet.
  • 23% of in-house respondents use mobile apps.
• To read legal industry trade publications and information,
  • 24% of in-house respondents use a smartphone.
  • 18% of in-house respondents use a tablet.
  • 6% of in-house respondents use mobile apps.

So what does this data mean for law firms serving the corporate community? This data is consistent with the general trend of increasing smart phones and tablets use by the general public and business users. The data demonstrates that in-house counsel have significant experience using mobile phones and tablets for business purposes. While in-house counsel use of these mobile devices for law-related information is lower, it is significant.  To us, this gap shows the extensive opportunity that exists for law firms to provide legal information and value-added resources to their clients.

The article covers the rising popularity of smart phones and tablets by lawyers. Most of the article focuses on lawyers’ use of smartphone apps and the mobile web for practicing law. Mr. Dysart devotes one portion of his article to law firms creating their own apps. That section of the article focuses on whether firms should develop web compatible sites (programmed in HTML5) or native smart phone apps. The article describes the CEO of Facebook who admitted that his company’s reliance on HTML5 was a mistake. On the other hand, software company SAP has committed to developing web-compatible apps in HTML5.

The article describes the drawbacks of HTML5, including its lack of responsiveness compared to native applications and some mobile sites not running as intended because different versions of mobile browsers run differently. The article indicates that creating native apps can be “unappealing”, especially due to the amount of money that could be involved in developing the app [Even so, as the Law Firm Mobile blog has reported, many firms, large and small, have published mobile apps].

This portion of the article then describes a third-option, where one can use a service to create an app via a website without programming. The company profiled is named ViziApps, which could create both smartphone and HTML5 apps with the same approach.

In a comment to the article, the developer of iTimeKeep provided some insight into his own company’s HTML5 app efforts. Even though his HTML5 web app was less expensive to develop, he “found a very substantial increase in usage and adoption with the native applications even though the HTML5 was well written and very usable.”

The article has the following sections:

• What is the mobile web?
• How important is the mobile web?
• How to optimize a site for the mobile web (including Screen Size, Touch Screens)
• Successful Mobile Websites Implemented by Law Firms (mentioning Faegre Baker Daniels, UK firm Harold Benjamin, and the importance of metrics)
• Future of the Mobile Web

In the article, Melanie S. Green, Chief Client Development officer at Faegre Baker Daniels, said,

The ability to see mobile visits versus desktop visits to our pages is crucial to success measurement. This, with our ability to create mobile-accessible custom pages, allows us to run some campaigns with a mobile-first strategy.

Another person quoted in the article, David Gilroy, Sales and Marketing Director at Conscious Solutions, mentioned:

Currently there are three primary reasons why someone would check out a law firm via their mobile device: (a) they want to find the firm, (b) they want to call the firm or (c) they want to read up on the person they are meeting/calling.”

The article can be found here.

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Some law firms have recognized that they can take existing hard copy or e-resources and turn them into even more valuable resources by making them  mobile apps. Baker McKenzie has created such an app based on the firm’s “40 Country Matrix” publication that provides critical legal and tax information from nearly 40 countries on granting equity awards to employees and executives of public companies. The resource has been published for 10 years in print and electronic form by the firm’s Global Equity Services Group.

The app was created as a resource for a range of professionals, including: stock plan professionals, tax directors, HR managers, employee benefit lawyers, and corporate/securities counsel.

The core information provided in the app includes select tax, securities, foreign exchange controls, labor, and data privacy considerations for employee stock options, employee stock purchase rights, and employee restricted stock and restricted stock units. Users can search for information by equity type (e.g. options, RSU, ESPP), country, and specific area of interest. The firm will also update the app to notify users of upcoming seminars and white papers.

Valerie Diamond, Chair of the Firm’s Global Equity Services Group, remarked:

“We understand that our clients increasingly need quick access to the myriad tax and legal consequences of equity awards in jurisdictions around the globe before they make the grant… Clients repeatedly told us that they relied on the 40 Country Matrix publication for the latest information, and they needed to access it no matter where they were.

The app currently has information for 40 countries and the firm plans to expand that coverage in the future.

In what should become a standard practice for law firms with apps, Baker McKenzie has created a landing page on its firm website for its app, a page that describes that app. Law firms still do not promote their own apps enough; having a landing page is a modest step to doing so. On the needs improvement side of things, the firm should consider a little more refined design of the app’s pages, particular the main “home” page.

In the summary below, we first present statistics on the extent of mobile app penetration by large law firms. Second, we describe our general impressions on the state of law firm mobile efforts based on this data. Last, this report provides a detailed list of the names of those law firms offering apps along with URLs to app reviews published by this blog as well as links to applicable app stores.

Overall

• Of the firms on the 2012 AmLaw 200 list, 22 firms (11%) have mobile apps. This is an increase of 38% from last year [16]. As a point of reference,  54 AmLaw200 firms (27%) have mobile compatible web sites.
• Of the firms on the Global 100 list, 23 firms (23%) have mobile apps. This is an increase of 35% from last year [17 firms].  As a point of reference,  29 Global100 firms (29%) have mobile compatible web sites.
• AmLaw 200 and Global 100 firms have collectively produced a total of 42 apps. This is an increase of 54% from last year.

Firms with More Than One App

Baker & McKenzie (iTunes) –  Cross-Border Listing Handbook

Baker & McKenzie (iTunes, Google Play) –  Global Equity Matrix

DLA Piper (iTunes, Google Play) – Cab Cribs App

Epstein Becker & Green (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Wage & Hour Guide

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson (iTunes app store, black berry store)

Gibson Dunn (iTunes app store) – Gibson Dunn Careers

Goulston & Storrs (LFM review, iTunes app store) - Goulston & Storrs News Application

LanePowell (iTunes)

Latham & Watkins (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Book of Jargon - Corporate and Bank Finance

Latham & Watkins(LFM review, iTunes app store) - Book of Jargon - Project Finance

Latham & Watkins (LFM review, iTunes app store) - Book of Jargon - European Capital Markets and Bank Finance

Latham & Watkins (LFM review, iTunes) - Book of Jargon - Global Restructuring

Latham & Watkins (iTunes) - Book of Jargon - Master Limited Partnerships

Latham & Watkins (LFM review, iTunes) - Global Merger Regimes

Littler Mendelson (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Littler

Littler Mendelson (iTunes app store) - 2011 Global Employer Institute

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddel  (LFM review, iTunes app store)

McKenna Long & Aldridge(LFM review, iTunes app store) - Mergers & Acquisitions Quick Reference Guide

Morrison & Foerster  (LFM review, iTunes app store) – MoF2Go

Morrison & Foerster  (iTunes) – Advance@Work

O’Melveny & Myers (LFM review, iTunes)

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker   (LFM review, iTunes app store, BlackBerry app store)

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (iTunes) - PGS ToolBox

Shearman & Sterling  (iTunes app store, android store) - Annual Survey of the Corporate Governance and Executive and Director Compensation Practices of the Largest US Public Companies

Sidley Austin (LFM review, iTunes)

Skadden (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Skadden Start Here

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey  (LFM review, iTunes app store) – UK Employment Law Cloud

White & Case  (iTunes app store) – Recruiting (Germany)

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice (LFM review, iTunes app store, BlackBerry App World) – Digital Media Law

Allens Arthur Robinson  (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Phrase Buster

Allen & Overy (LFM review, iTunes app store)

Allen & Overy (LFM review, iTunes app store) – Little Red App

Clayton Utz (LFM review, iTunes app store)

Eversheds (iTunes app store) - Eversheds Guide to International Employment and Pensions Law

Mallesons Stephen Jaques (iTunes)

Norton Rose (LFM review, iTunes, BlackBerry App World)

LFM: Thanks so much for taking the time to be with us today. What has Thomson Reuters learned about how in-house counsel use of mobile technologies?

Eric: In-house counsel are like every other professional that has seen how technology, specifically mobile technology, has changed how they work, where they work and how work is getting done. Mobile technology is a resource that in-house counsel can use to be more efficient, whether through sharing research or work product with colleagues or outside firms, or just being able to accomplish tasks while out of the office. But mobile can’t be an afterthought.  We’ve found that in-house counsel need technologies that are built from the ground up for mobile use and provide the same level of usability and functionality that the user would have if they were sitting at their desktop. Using mobile technology in this way to improve their workflow leads to improved efficiency and effectiveness for their legal department, as well as their organization.

LFM: Can you describe Thomson Reuters mobile apps that either that (i) were made specifically for in-house counsel or (ii) are used significantly by in-house counsel?

Eric: Thomson Reuters has numerous products, services and solutions that are used by a variety of legal professionals, but we just launched Concourse, which the product development was focused around mobile first. We built Concourse to work beautifully on an iPad before we contemplated the desktop/laptop experience. Concourse connects the people, tools, and data that in-house legal departments work with every day. Concourse is built for collaboration in the mobile world, with mobile access to matter folders which span tools such as Westlaw, Legal Hold, Matter Room, and soon Serengeti. Additionally, the mobile apps that are used primarily by in-house counsel likely would be GC Advisor, BoardLink and Thomson Reuters Accelus Informer. In-house counsel also use, among others, WestlawNext, CLE Mobile, Thomson One and ProView.

LFM: How do you decide the platforms on which your company develops mobile apps for lawyers?

Eric: When we decide the platforms for our mobile applications, we look to our customers. We look at what devices they are using, what they need to accomplish with the application and how they need to access information. For the most part, we develop a significant number of applications for iOS devices. We have created apps on Android platforms, as well as mobile websites, so no matter what device our customers have, as long as it is web-enabled, they can access their resources and information.

LFM: What trends do you see with respect to in-house counsel use of mobile technologies (apps, compatible website sites, and other)?

Eric: As the workflow environment has become increasingly demanding and complex, corporate law departments often lack automated tools to help them manage their most critical tasks. This indicates a need for greater use of technology and those solutions need to be integrated, while embracing the mobile requirements. Through Thomson Reuters Concourse, we have been able to develop a solution that enhances in-house counsel’s workflow, collaboration and mobile access. As businesses become increasingly global, actionable information needs to be placed in people’s hands immediately, no matter where in the world they are, and decision makers need to be able to collaborate and act on that information in real-time. That requires mobile technologies with 24/7 global accessibility. Just as the legal profession has embraced cloud technology, understanding public versus private clouds, in-house counsel understand using the cloud allows them access to their information and resources anytime, anywhere. Through this, they are able to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. In-house counsel need to have solutions that allow access anytime, but at the same time, know their information is secure.

LFM: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today!

Sidley Austin LLP has taken a somewhat different approach for its mobile app compared to other AmLaw firms.

While other firm apps typically focus on information about the firm, Sidley’s app actually focuses on client “Updates” content produced by the firm’s practice groups. Users have the ability to select from a list of practice areas. The list is rather long — which makes the selection process user unfriendly.

In addition to the “Updates”, the app provides for other standard firm information.

• “Our People”: to provide a search engines for lawyers with specific industry or practice experience.
• “News and Media”:  includes firm press releases and highlights Sidley in the news.

Samir A. Gandhi, partner and co-chair of the Firm’s Marketing and Practice Development Committee, remarked:

We recognize that clients want content on their terms, not ours. There is an ever-increasing reliance on mobile devices to consume information, and with our new app clients will have the ability to access our content at the time and in the manner they prefer.

As a bonus, this app takes advantage of the iOS notification system, so that the user is informed of new updates of selected practice areas via a pop-up message.

One area needing improvement is the list of full titles for the “News & Media” section; the current version has character limits that makes some of the items unreadable. While the firm also developed a companion iPad app, the differences between the iPhone and iPad versions are minimal (and thus the iPad version is disappointing).

Hogan Lovells has put together a launch page on its web site for mobile apps (found here).

While there is currently only one selection on that page, the firm’s Chronicle of Data Protection, perhaps there are plans for additional resources.

We commend Hogan Lovell’s effort to make a legal resource available on smartphone, but the firm’s implementation falls short. (See the screen shots below). The graphical presentation of the data does not reflect the professionalism of the firm. The interface needs more work, and, after reading an initial page of a content item, the user is required to click a “continue reading” link in order to read more. And, even then, the app appears to take the user to the web optimized version of the blog of the same name.

It may be that this web app is in beta testing. It may be the HTML is not optimized for our iPhone 4 screen. In any event, the firm should take another look at this approach and provide it the design and programming resources needed to make it a first-class effort.