If I was feeling more creative this morning, my post would take the form of an “Ode to Adobe.” But, composing lyrical verse this early in the morning is a little overkill.

Just so we’re clear, this is about the software you use to view PDF documents. If you are still using the free version of Adobe Reader, it’s time to upgrade. Just bite the bullet and shell out the cash for something a little more sophisticated, which will enhance your practice and your life in many ways. I use Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro (which retails for $449.00. It’s cheaper if you upgrade from a prior paid version) on my work and personal computers. Here are a few things that you can do with this software, as they apply to the legal field:

• Redaction: You can permanently redact information saved in PDF files. This often comes up when submitting documentary evidence, like medical records, where you need to remove social security numbers or the subject of motions in limine.
• Create PDF documents from almost anything: You can create an unchanging PDF from just about any other type of document—Word, Excel, WordPerfect, even a Web page. This is the preferred method for electronic filing of documents in federal courts (and how I save recipes from the internet).
• Remove metadata: Metadata is essentially that information that accompanies electronic documents just under the surface. It includes things like the date of creation, the date of the most recent revision, and sometimes the content of those revisions. Sometimes this is information you do not want opposing counsel to know, so Adobe features a metadata scrubber to wipe it clean.
• Add/remove pages and combine documents: With Adobe you can easily combine documents and insert and extract pages within a document. When my office gets pleadings from electronic federal filings, they often come to us as multiple documents (for example, a motion, memorandum, exhibits and proposed order). With Adobe they can all be combined into one document for ease.
• Snapshots: Using the snapshot button, portions of PDF documents can be copied and pasted into other applications, including PowerPoint. This is typically how I put together my opening statements and closing arguments in trial.
• Bookmarks: You can create a “table of contents” for your Adobe documents with bookmarks. When we compile medical records, I use bookmarks to organize them electronically.
• Bates-stamping: Adobe can bates-stamp documents. This is often used for responses to requests for production of documents, and creating identifiable pages in court exhibits.
• Optical character recognition (OCR): One of my favorite features, you can use Adobe to convert a PDF document into a searchable document. This is especially valuable for medical records or document-intensive cases. After OCR-ing documents in my cases, I download them to my laptop and then can easily search for specific words during deposition and trial.

These are just a few of the features that I use on a regular basis. Adobe is really the software cornerstone of my office, and makes work so much easier. Most of the standard features are intuitive for the technophobe, and at least one person in the office (probably more) should have this ability to manipulate documents. There’s a decent blog out there, Acrobat for Legal Professionals, if you want tips on improving your skills.

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