“Never in my 14 years of blogging and more than two decades of covering legal technology have I seen the legal world react to a new product as it did this week to the LegalBoard, a keyboard designed for lawyers.”
That is what I wrote in 2017 after I published a blog post announcing the LegalBoard, a keyboard designed for lawyers by a lawyer. Hits to that post went through the roof, far exceeding any post I’d ever published. Some readers loved it, while others thought it an affront to keyboard shortcuts.
But one of the most common questions I received was, “When will there be a wireless version?”
So too for the keyboard’s creator, Brian Potts, a partner at Perkins Coie in Madison, Wis. “We’ve had hundreds (if not thousands) of requests for a wireless version of the LegalBoard since we launched in January of 2017,” he told me this week.
So, for all you wanters of a wireless LegalBoard, the wait is over. The wireless version will begin shipping in December and the company is now taking pre-orders. The cost of the LegalBoard Wireless, which currently includes a wireless mouse, is $85.
Legal-Specific Keys
To refresh your recollection, the LegalBoard is a computer keyboard that includes legal-specific keys, to help shortcut the work of writing a brief or legal document. As I explained in my original hands-on review, some keys insert common words and phrases, such as “e.g.,” “F.3d,” “plaintiff,” and “respondent.”
Others insert common symbols, such as “§,” “¶,” and “©.” Still others perform common functions, such as add a footnote, insert bullets, open a comment window, or change line spacing.
The new wireless version makes some changes to that original layout, based on customer feedback. Gone is the copyright symbol, replaced by the registered trademark symbol. Added are keys for em dash and en dash. Also added is a degree symbol key (for real estate lawyers) and new multimedia keys.
Plus, Potts says, the new one is “much sexier looking.”
Where to Buy
You can preorder the LegalBoard Wireless from this site. Meanwhile, the wired version is still available and currently on sale, marked down from $75 to $50.
Also available is the LegalPad, a mini version of the LegalBoard designed to be portable for travel. (See my LegalPad review.) Information on all three versions can be found here.
Potts told me he and his team have been working on the design and manufacture of this wireless version ever since launching the original LegalBoard.
“It feels good to finally be able to offer a wireless version,” he said. “It’s been a long slog to get this done. But the final product is really nice.”