Should lawyers switch from their PC to a Mac?

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Boston — As reported last week, a small but growing number of lawyers have switched to Mac computers and are thrilled with their decision.

But there are also some pitfalls in switching a Mac that are not to be overlooked.

Switching Software

A drawback to switching to Macs is that a lot of software is still Windows-only.

J. Kevin Morton, a solo in Winston-Salem, N.C., who practices Social Security disability law and switched to Macs six months ago, said that the extent software is available for Macs is at about the same level as Windows software was 10 years ago.

“I don’t think the software is mature enough, but as Macs get more market share, people will start writing more programs for them,” said Morton.

He says that if he were starting up a firm, it would have been a “no brainer” to fill it with Macs.

But since he was switching from PCs rather than starting with a blank slate, he had to find new case management software because the one he used on his PC does not offer a Mac-based version.

As a result, the process of moving old case files from his old Windows-based case management program to his new Mac-based program has been time-consuming and cumbersome.

Morton recommends that any law firm thinking about switching to Macs spend a few months researching and test-driving the software they will need.

Lawyers in certain practice areas may find that the software required to perform specialized transactions, such as real estate closings or child support calculations, are created only for Windows, said Ben Stevens, a family law attorney at Stevens MacPhail in Spartanburg, S.C., who switched his firm to Mac computers nearly four years ago and blogs about being a Mac-using lawyer at www.themaclawyer.com.

Todd Juneau’s three-lawyer patent firm, Juneau Partners in Alexandria, Va., switched to Macs three years ago, but it still uses Windows for case management and to get into the U.S. Patent Office’s programs (which until recently were only available for Windows).

However, there are at least three major, Mac-based programs for case management, time and billing — Daylite, Law Stream and Rocket Matters, said Stevens.

Windows Programs Needed

Due to the software issues, Mac users may still need to run Windows programs on a Mac, which is possible in one of four ways.

One way is to boot up your Mac in Windows with a program called “boot camp.”

“You literally restart your Mac as a PC,” said Jeffrey Richardson, a litigation partner at Adams & Reese in New Orleans, who uses a Mac from home although his firm uses PCs.

This is a good option if you need to run at full speed, he added.

You will need to purchase a Windows license, however. But, as Stevens notes, “for an extra $100 you can have a Mac and a PC.”

Another option for running Windows on a Mac is to use “parallel” software, such as Parallels or Fusion.

These cost around $60-$80 and allow you to work in Windows and Mac OSX — the latest Mac operating system — simultaneously, said Stevens.

“They run on the same screen side by side. Most people like this, because you can drag and drop, or cut, copy and paste documents from one to the other,” he added.

However, the downside is that this may slow down even a zippy Mac.

“I’m the kind of person who has five programs running at once. If you use parallels, you’re running Windows, which is also using DOS, plus Mac OSX, so it’s really like running three operating systems,” said Juneau, who prefers to use boot camp when he runs Windows-only software.

A third option is that some programs, such as Outlook, will allow you to run a Windows version on a Mac without running Windows, so you do not need to use boot camp or parallel software.

A fourth option is to connect to a PC using your Mac through a remote desktop connection. For example, Stevens, who needs to use a Windows-only child support calculation program, does this by connecting to an older PC that he leaves running in his office.

“I can access that from anywhere. And it’s free,” said Stevens.

Walking Away From Windows

Of course, if your main purpose in switching to Macs was to get away from Windows, these options do not fulfill that goal.

In addition, some of the old issues, such as viruses and Trojans Horses, come back once you go back to Windows.

“That’s the danger. As a Mac user, you’re not used to worrying about viruses. They just don’t exist. But once you start using Windows, you open yourself up to that world again,” said Richardson.

He relies on free anti-virus software from the Web on his Mac to protect against viruses while in the Windows environment.

Should you switch your office PC to a Mac? Part I: The advantages