[blindlaw] Change of topic, Legal Work on the Mac

Thu Jan 12 22:34:49 UTC 2017

Sai:

Thanks for the very informative input. I haven't tried Google Docs, and was not aware of NEO Office.  I'll have to experiment with these programs.  I do hope that others chime in with their experiences using Macs for legal work.  Generally speaking, I really like the Mac hardware and appreciate Apple's pioneering work with universal design so I would like to continue to support that effort, but not at the expense of billable time.  

Luis

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sai via BlindLaw
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 4:24 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sai <legal at s.ai>
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Change of topic, Legal Work on the Mac

I actually compose everything in Google Docs, except when I have to review someone else's drafts, in which case I use NeoOffice (which is free).

I have really extreme light sensitivity, but fairly normal acuity and no tunnel vision etc. Lighting completely controls whether I'm fully sighted or functionally blind. It's an issue for navigation (I use a guide cane and sunglasses / hat, sometimes a sleep mask if it's too bright).

However, I generally use the computer like a sighted person. I just have the screen on low brightness and have a privacy shield installed (which dims it a bit more and also provides privacy from people trying to look at my screen from the side).

I mainly only have to switch to voiceover mode if I'm outdoors in bright light, since then it's stabbingly painful to use my eyes.

So, I'm afraid my experience probably isn't going to be very helpful to you from a blind perspective. I compose all my briefs fully sighted, just in very dim lighting.

I don't use much for legal drafting that's OSX specific.

Google Docs works on anything. I have a couple template documents for some specific things like FOIA requests (e.g.
<https://s.ai/foia/template>), but mostly it's a lot of copying previous filings that are similar (if simply to preserve formatting and stuff like the case caption) and rewriting them.

I use OSX shortcut keys a lot. Control-command-space rarely; only for stuff like the pillcrow / paragraph symbol, which I think doesn't have a normal shortcut key.

On Chrome, I find Tabs Outliner (paid version) super helpful for organizing active legal research into something like folders (e.g. one window for checking cases cited in opposing counsel's motion, one window per specific issue I need to research or manually Shepardize, etc). Otherwise I'd have hundreds of tabs open, instead of just dozens. (Not an exaggeration; that's what I did before I installed
it.)

Jumpcut is a nice little app that gives your clipboard history functionality. E.g. if I copy one thing, then copy another, I can press control-option-v, 2 to paste the first one. (Ordinarily it'd be just overridden by the new clipboard entry.) I use that very frequently. Again though, no idea about its accessibility.

I use the terminal pretty frequently, including e.g. to do mass file renames (using a small Ruby program I wrote), search for documents, archive websites, scrape comments posted in Federal Register rulemakings (also with a Ruby script I wrote) etc, etc. However, unless you're very comfortable with Unix (and programming), that probably isn't going to be helpful to you.

I think most of the other stuff I run isn't particularly drafting related — a lot of security / privacy software, various utilities, backups, etc.

Sorry I can't be more helpful here. My blind experience mostly only include the part where you get whacked by signs and indoor stairs because there's no indication at cane level, not to stuff like JAWS.
:-P

- Sai

On Thu, Jan 12, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Dan Beitz via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Please respond on the list, rather than off-line, so we can read it.  I am certainly interested to hear this.
>
>
>
> Daniel K. Beitz
> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
> Rochester, MI  48307
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Luis 
> Mendez via BlindLaw
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 3:55 PM
> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
> Cc: Luis Mendez
> Subject: [blindlaw] Change of topic, Legal Work on the Mac
>
> Sai:
>
> I switched to the Mac for a while, but found that the review and production of complex legal documents using Text Edit was Limiting and using Pages
> proved challenging.   I subscribed to Office 365, but that didn't solve the
> focus and other problems I encountered with the Mac O.S.   I do still use
> the I.O.S. version while on the road, but have switched back to the Windows version of Office for heavy duty document production.
>
> I'm interested in your experiences with document production on the Mac.
> Please feel free to write me off-line at luismendez.law at gmail.com if 
> you have time and the inclination to discuss this further.
>
> Luis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sai 
> via BlindLaw
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 2:55 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sai <legal at s.ai>
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Keyboard strokes for section symbol
>
> What OS?
>
> Option-5 in OSX.
>
> - Sai
>
> On Thu, Jan 12, 2017 at 12:51 PM, Nightingale, Noel via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Blindlaw,
>>
>> It's been a long time since I needed to use the section symbol in Word.
> Can someone tell me the keyboard strokes that I use?
>>
>> I would appreciate it.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Noel
>>
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