I’ve been using DeBrief Notes for a few months now, and have decided that it’s definitely a keeper.

I know a number of attorneys who won’t mix notes from more than one  case on the same legal pad

• the entire pad can be put in the case file;
• there’s no risk of a client, witness, or adverse counsel seeing any confidential information;
• and, if you use a fresh pad when meeting outsiders, i.e. anyone outside the “Cone of Privilege,” ¹

Debrief Notes – Note Software.

Continuing the comparison to legal pads – With DeBrief Notes

• there’s no worrying about misplacing pads;
• many pads, many pages can be searched at once;
• the portable (flash drive) version runs and saves fast as your USB port;

And here are some of the other features of DeBrief Notes.  I haven’t mastered all of these yet, but those that I’ve experimented with seem promising.

Note Decks

Notes can be displayed in a similar fashion to index cards, arranging notes in different orders to produce drafts for whitepapers, articles, or books.

Note Flags

Mark notes as favorites, work in progress, attention required. Refer to them later with only one or two mouse clicks.

Index

An index can be maintained for topics that span across subject areas, like an index in a book.

Reading List and Library

A reading list may be maintained, which builds a library for which research notes may be taken and end notes managed.

To-Dos, Assignments, Discussions

To-Dos, Assignments, and Discussions can be managed in Debrief. While the task features are robust, notes may also be taken with each task and later viewed within different contexts.

Issues, Changes, Risks, Decisions, Milestones

The Case feature supports a “systems management” approach for man-aging work like: issues, changes, risks, decisions, milestones, and so on. Notes and tasks can be included with each case.

Contacts

Contact information can be collected, for very quick access to phone numbers and such, and notes can be associated to individuals and companies.

Status reporting

Display a view of notes, tasks, and cases, for input into status reports.

Outlines

Create outlines for use in brainstorming, or organization.

Reports

Materials can be exported in various formats, e.g. word processing and spreadsheets, based on context.

Reminders

Gentle popup reminders each day.

Pricing: there’s a Basic version, which is free, a Standard version for $30,  and a Professional version, on which my reiews have been based, and which I think  is a bargain for $40.

 

1. Fans of the Buck Henty/Mel Brooks television espionage satire Get Smart are likely to recognise this reference to the “Cone of Silence,” the first use of which, according to Wikipedia, may have been on a 1955 episode of the television series Science Fiction Theater. I was introduced to the “Cone of Privilege” by the outstanding trial attorneys Richard Berne and Wesley Serra, now of Irom, Wittels, Freund, Berne & Serra, P.C. [↩]