iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Enable Lawyer to Go Completely Paperless

"A chorus of angels started singing in my head!" attorney Eric Cooperstein said. "Scales fell from my eyes! "

It was not the second coming of the Messiah, but it was a close second for the paperless attorney. Cooperstein, like many lawyers, went paperless in his law practice a decade ago. Drafting and saving pleadings on his computer; scanning letters and other documents; e-filing, e-discovery, and cloud computing: these all became part of the paperless law office.

But there was no paperless solution for Cooperstein's handwritten notes -- until he saw the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil.

All in With Apple

"The transition to taking notes on a screen was seamless," he wrote for Lawyerist. "As soon as I started using the Pencil, I was hooked and I have literally not written on a legal pad since."

With the Apple Pencil, the iPad distinguishes between the pencil tip and your finger. So you can rest your hand on the screen while writing without a glitch.

The tip is pressure-sensitive, too, so that lines vary in thickness as you write. This creates an impression where writing on glass feels much like writing on paper.

The Microsoft Alternative

Anything Apple can do, Microsoft tries to do better. For Windows users, there's the SurfacePro Four -- and particularly its powered stylus -- which might actually be better.

According to Cooperstein, the stylus is "clearly more functional." The top of the stylus works as an eraser, which the Apple Pencil does not have. The Microsoft stylus also has an embedded magnet that attaches the stylus to the tablet.

"Personally, the stylus alone would not motivate me to switch but it is a very good option for Windows users," he said.

Of course, these innovations are each an investment of about $1,000. It may be too early for Christmas presents, but hallelujah for office expense deductions in April!

Related Resources:

• Surface Pro 4 vs. iPad Pro: Which Tablet Wins? (Laptop Magazine)
• Going Paperless? It May Be Your Ethical Obligation (FindLaw's Strategist)
• 5 High-Tech Ways Small Law Firms Can Go Paperless (FindLaw's Technologist)