Sorry this is so long. I love it here. I love the Mac. I just discovered it after a career on Windows.
I’m a lawyer and am looking for a system to take notes for each project, which for me is each case. There is case management software out there, but they are not right for me. I handle a small number of large personal injury cases. My partner and I have our own filing system for documents. What I’m looking for is something for all my notes about each case.
I’m currently using Word. I put the main metrics for each case at the top (names, key dates, contact information for the client, insurance adjusters, defense counsel, courtrooms, etc). Then everything else is in reverse chronological order. Every time I get or make a phone call, I make an entry and put all the information in a bulleted list during the call. The same goes for notes I take of meetings.
The benefits of this system are that I can keep each notes document in the client’s folder in cloud storage, it’s easy to paste from other Word documents and Outlook, I can quickly search through a client notes file, and anyone else can figure out what is going on with the case in the event something happened to me.
The problem with it is that it’s not organized. I can have a 70-page Word notes file in a big case. Scattered throughout is information that can be a bear to compile when it is time to use it in an organized way.
To complicate things, in a single phone call I often cover multiple issues, for example my client might update me on her condition, a new specialist she is seeing, and that she just remembered an important detail about the injury incident or something someone said to her.
There are so many solutions out there I’m hoping someone will point me in the right direction. I am considering apps like Obsidian, logseq, and Omni Outliner. I have Onenote, but it tends to drive me crazy (perhaps I could learn it better). I’m happy to spend time developing templates, looking for plug-ins, things like that, as I enjoy it. Access to my notes on multiple Macs is essential, and being able to read them on an iPad or iPhone is also important.
I also have another Word document for legal research on each case. If I could integrate that into the same system, it would be a plus. I often copy and paste from the research to a Word document.
Thanks for your thoughts! And thanks to Stephen, David, and Rosemary for this forum and for the wonderful podcast.