Somewhere a lawyer has just gotten his or her first smartphone. Maybe they received it as a Christmas gift. Maybe they were goaded into it by family, friends or co-workers. Maybe they grew tired of being handed a spouse’s phone to look at pictures posted by children or grandchildren. Maybe their flip phone just finally died. Regular readers probably don’t appreciate how intimidating it would be to convert from a flip phone to today’s generation of smart phones. You may not think you are a smart phone expert, but you have amassed a huge smart phone use knowledge base over the years from trial and error, doing some online researching and perhaps even some tips at a legal technology CLE program.

At a recent CLE program I taught, I mentioned how convenient it is to dictate text messages and short emails into a smart phone (when appropriate) instead of typing on the phone’s tiny virtual keyboard. A couple of lawyers sitting at the back of the room found that idea so new and empowering that they had to quietly try it out then with a cupped hand over their phones. (See graphic at right above if you have never tried it.)

My Oklahoma Bar Journal column, The Basics of a Lawyer’s Smartphone, should be perfect for the new smart phone user, so feel free to share it if you know one of these people. And maybe, like the attendees at that CLE program, you will find something “basic” in it that you have missed as well.

For those who have received new tech devices as a gift this month, your attention is directed to Wired Magazine’s The Master Guide to Setting Up All Your New Devices.