How Much Law School Work Can You Put in the Cloud?

This post was written a while ago in anticipation of NaNoWriMo.

A post on Lawyerist about how to minimize the risk of data loss when working with cloud computing got me thinking about how much of your law school work could be pushed to the cloud. Personally, I think the files on the average personal hard drive are more susceptible to loss than the files saved in a web-based app.¹ But when a problem happens, it tends to be catastrophic and very public.

What you should push to the cloud has everything to do with how comfortable you are with the concept. But I think there are a few things you can and a few things you can.²

What Can Go in the Cloud

• Briefs (court variety) and memos. Write in Google Docs and export for final formatting. Especially useful for group projects that require collaboration and multiple editors.
  
• Presentations. Same concept as above, but also shaves precious seconds off the “log out, log in, download the file” dance when multiple people are presenting in a class.
  
• Job search materials. You can write resumes and cover letters, edit writing samples, and track applications and responses.
  

What Can’t Go Into the Cloud

• Class notes. It will never unseat the career service office, but Wi-Fi is solid top five competitor for “Biggest Law School Whipping Boy.” Don’t count on always being able to access your web-based notetaking app.
  
• Briefs (reading variety). If you have to be online to write briefs or take reading notes, you can only work where there is internet access. Watch how quickly that becomes your primary excuse for procrastinating.
  
• Outlining. Others may disagree but I have not found an online tool flexible enough for outlining. If you find one that works the same way your brain does, congratulations. Even so, you still have the problem of needing to be online for a studying task.
  

As a general rule, I would avoid pushing too much day-to-day studying onto a cloud application. One key is to staying on top of your law school work is to stay light and flexible.³ You approach writing a brief or editing your resume with a certain deliberateness. Studying and outlining is often more spontaneous. Don’t throw up unnecessary barriers to getting started.

Tagged as: advice, cloud computing