The Depose App: Should Lawyers Drop $8 on It?
You're a smart lawyer and you know how to handle a deposition, so do you really need to pay for an app to help you with it?
It's not a necessity yet, but the Depose app is certainly a benefit for attorneys who are in trial often and have to take lots of depositions. Rather than carrying around a dog-eared and messy legal pad, the app lets you keep all of the mess contained within your sleek Android tablet.
The app is marketed as a tool for depositions, but it's easy to see how its style can be adapted to other important tasks that lawyers deal with all the time.
The app is designed to support the fluid question-and-answer format that depositions generally follow. You just click the "New Depo" button to add a deposition to the app.
When you create a new deposition, the app has a list of preprogrammed questions you may find helpful, and allows you to add as many original questions as you want. If you have questions you know will come up often, you can easily add them to the list of templates.
During the deposition, just click the "Take Depo" button and the questions will pop up with space to write notes underneath.
If during the deposition you find that you want to change the order of questions, the app lets you fluidly move them around with your finger. That way questions can be repositioned but not forgotten.
The downside to the app? It doesn't allow you to import documents or questions from other sources. You have to type everything on your tablet -- though that can be made easier by buying a keyboard.
The app also stores all files locally, which can take up space. But it's possible to move them around when you're connected to the Internet.
The Depose app, however, is currently only available for Android devices, not iPads or iPhones.
Even though the app is marketed for depositions, Depose can come in handy for trials as well, especially during cross-examinations when you need flexibility in your line of questioning. Plus it could be a good tool for initial client interviews. All that for $7.99? We're sold.
Related Resources:
- How to Use an iPad to Recreate a Scene at Trial, Deposition (FindLaw's Technologist)
- E-Reader or Tablet, Which is Best for Lawyers? (FindLaw's Technologist)
- 5 Must-Have Legal Gadgets for Every Attorney (FindLaw's Technologist)