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November 15th, 2010 by The Clio Team

2010 Apple in Law Firms Survey Results

The results of our inaugural Apple in Law Firms Survey are in, and we’re excited to share the complete results here. Before we get underway, we’d like to announce the winner of the iPad giveaway: Holly Wilcox of Castle Rock, CO. Congratulations Holly, and thanks to everyone who participated in the survey.

The survey received 835 responses, and gave a useful sampling of responses across law firms of all sizes as well as from law students.

We’ll follow up in a series of blog posts this week with some insights on what we think the survey results mean. In the meantime, here are the full results:

Survey Respondent Demographics

FirmSize

What is your primary computer’s operating system?

OS

Mac-Using Lawyer Respondents

How long have you used Macs in your law office?

LengthOfUse

Which cloud-based applications do you use in your law office? (Top three shown)

CloudBasedApps

What desktop applications do you use in your law office? (Top three shown)

DesktopApps

What most influenced your decision to select Apple over PC products?

WhyApple

Do you currently use iPads in your law office?

UsingIPads


If not, are you considering purchasing iPads for your law office in the next year?

PurchasingIpadInNextYear

What mobile devices do you currently use?

MobileDevices

Which, if any, of the following mobile devices do you plan on switching to in the next year?SwitchingSmartPhone

If you had to re-implement your office’s IT needs, would you choose to use Macs again?

WouldYouDoItAgain

PC-Using Lawyer Respondents

Are you considering switching to Macs in your law office in the next year?

PCUsingOfficeSwitchingToMacInNextYear

Law Student Respondents

What is your primary computer’s operating system?

StudentPCVsMac

When you graduate, which platform will you choose to base your office’s IT needs upon?

PostGraduationOSChoice

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It isn't strange that Mac seems to be the winning trend in such a conservative business area like law practice. I think that the usability of their products, paired with their carefully crafted design and their secure environments, make them very appropriate for law environments. I liked to see stats confirming the trend I started to spot amongst lawyers.

The iPad was a different matter, though. It isn't easily compared to any existing piece of hardware, and it was originally marketed as a consumer product. But I've also started seeing more and more iPads in such professional sectors. When I read what lawyers thought about iPads at http://legalmediamatters.com/apple-ipad-review-for-lawyers/ I realized why such innovative hardware might be useful for them: it's quite portable, it offers a good screen, it makes easy to read while standing, and of course, it's pure visual eye-candy.

It's hard to predict any future trend, but I'd expect the next versions of iPad improving the multitasking features, while more and more specific apps will be developed. Maybe it is still too expensive, and that's why law students have to stay clear of the iPad. But a future price drop on the product would be much welcome. So it wouldn't be strange to see such an increasing number of iPads in law firms in the near future.

I had to buy my daughter a PC for law school so she could take the stupid tests. It seems most law schools use a standardized testing agency that requires a Windows system. They lock down the PC so it can't do anything else, both during the test and sometimes afterwards. The only time she'd use the PC is during tests so she had to spend a couple days prior to the tests updating the laptop and making sure it would still connect to the test site.

I like seeing some lawyers and law student appreciate the Mac but still think Macs are foreign when dealing with corporations and most law schools, just like inside the government.

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