I just got back from a near week-long conference in Dallas. It’s the largest continuing legal education program in Texas, with something like 1,700 lawyers in attendance, and I suspect it’s one of the largest in the country. With that many lawyers in one place, it gives you an opportunity to see trends. And this year was a big one.
This same time last year, I ran across several lawyers with iPhones. Not a lot, but a decent amount. At the time, most lawyers with smartphones were using BlackBerrys. This year, however, there was a noticeable bump in iPhones. Now, this is completely unscientific, but I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that 1 in 6 lawyers there was carrying an iPhone. (And this was oddly noticeable because iPhone users seem to like to carry their phones in their hand.) For me, it seemed like a huge jump in one year. And some of the discussions I had with other attorneys and conversations I overheard included talk of iPhone apps related to their practice.
According to the 2009 ABA Legal Technology Survey, of the 77% who reported availability of smartphones at their firms, BlackBerrys accounted for the majority at 64%, while iPhones came in at 14%. For the group of lawyers in Dallas, the number of perceived iPhone users might have been slightly larger (maybe 16 to 17%).
This is all just anecdotal, but it would certainly seem that more lawyers are getting and using iPhones. The trend of asking for content or services via apps is also just beginning, and I suspect will grow at an alarming rate. The lesson: if you are a legal content creator or provider, you should be thinking of what your app strategy is going to be for the next year.
You must log in to post a comment.