Networking Made Easier With 3 Smartphone Apps

There are a lot of apps out there specifically for lawyers, but there are also a lot of useful apps that are good for lawyers without being specific to the practice of law.

Networking is an important part of being a lawyer that has nothing to do with law. It applies to anyone looking for clients, looking for a better job, or just looking to make connections. That's pretty much every lawyer out there.

To steamline the process and make it easier to stand out when you attend a networking event, we've gathered some apps that make it easier to connect with new contacts. Here are three apps that can help you stay in touch:

• CardMunch. The problem with networking events is that at the end, you have a stack of business cards that you have to deal with. If you're extremely organized, that information might make it into your contacts list, but for most lawyers, the actual business cards get lost over time. With CardMunch, available for iPhone and iPad, you can take a picture of the card with your smartphone and the app will save the information for you. It helps you find that contact when you need to call or send an email.
• Cardcloud. While it's still important to exchange contact information, vCards rather than paper business cards can work just as well if you have a way to send them. Cardcloud is an app that works across platforms and allows you to share your vCard via text or email. The recipient doesn't even need to have the app.
• Contacts Journal. Collecting business cards is a good move, but even if you find a good way to organize them, after a long event it's hard to remember which face goes with which card. Sure you can save names in your address book, but Contacts Journal -- an app for iPhone and iPad -- lets you also save important details that will jog your memory later on. Having those details readily available when you run into your new contact again will make you appear even more professional.

Related Resources:

• Twitter 101 for Lawyers: 3 Key Ways to Make Your Tweets Stand Out (FindLaw's Technologist)
• Unemployed Law Grads: 5 Ways to Become More Marketable (FindLaw's Strategist)
• An Older Attorney's Guide to Ethical Social Networking (FindLaw's Strategist)