If you are a law student then you will likely spend a lot of your time knee deep in law books and probably see lists of names and dates whenever you close your eyes. It’s heavy going learning the law, and anything you can do to make it more fun and more interesting, or to give you more convenient ways to learn about it, is going to be highly useful. Here we will look at some of the best apps for law students on Android that can help you to learn the law and to even make it in some cases… fun…?
Dumb Laws
There are countless different apps on the market that list unusual, dumb and funny laws which include laws against things like raising alligators in your home or herding more than 3,000 sheep down Hollywood Blvd. While they all will make you smile (and remind you just how bizarre and complicated your chosen subject is) some of the best include ‘1,200 Dumb Laws US’, ‘Strange Laws’ and ‘Weird Laws International’.
Law buddy is a touch and go app that’s great in theory but maybe not so hot in execution. The idea is that you enter your location (by selecting it on the inbuilt map) and then your question, and can then find the laws pertaining to that subject in your area. Wondering whether you can talk on the phone in a particular state? Then this can be quite handy.
The problem with Law Buddy is that all it really does is link you straight to Wikipedia – which you don’t technically need an app for. Furthermore the fact that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone means that it’s not really a reliable source for writing your essays – though it might be useful for telling your friends laws when they ask you (as will happen if you’re a law student). Unfortunately it also force closes for a lot of people, so give it a try but keep your expectations nice and low and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Somewhat more reliable (in general – read the reviews) are the penal law apps which allow you to access the entire penal law in an easy to search format on your phone. Many of the comments suggest that they are indeed useful for law students who want quick and reliable access to the law, and you can find them for several different states and even other countries. But on the down side they are also generally rather pricey, and particularly bearing in mind that you can get all the same information for free from your college library.
You can also find several different apps to provide you with details on the vehicle codes of New York, California and elsewhere. Again they’re pricey but handy for being easy to access, but it would be nice to see a few more apps on marriage law, custody, immigration etc.
DroidLaw seems to be the best option for law reference on your Android, and reviews suggest that the creator offers good customer support and lots of updates. You can get DroidLaw versions of many of the above vehicle code and penal code apps, or even the ‘Legal Dictionary’ which is completely free. If you are a student looking for useful apps in the playstore, the searching ‘DroidLaw’ is a good place to start.
About the Author: Brian loves his smartphones; he has a Samsung Android and a cool iPhone. These apps can come handy for students whether they are gearing upto become criminal lawyers or family lawyers.
