The hottest topic on iPad Lawyer over the last year or so has been the issue of transferring documents to the iPad.

To summarise the options:–

1. Use iTunes and a USB lead for file transfer (urgh!)
2. Transfer files using a USB lead and Diskaid (secure and fairly quick and easy)
3. Sync files with specific apps like iAnnotate using WiFi (convenient, but requires both devices to be on the same network which can be a problem in the office)
4. using DropBox (easy, widely supported across most platforms and apps, but not appropriate for client data)
5. (as from 12 October) using Apple’s iCloud (seamless integration, but data security status isn’t yet clear. Also limited to Apple devices)

For those who are tied to a PC in the office, DropBox is the easiest solution, but as I pointed out in the post linked above it isn’t an enterprise grade solution for client information or personal data. Once again, I’m not picking on DropBox; the same issues apply with most consumer level cloud services.

Not everyone agrees with me on this last point (although I still stand by it!). The September / October 2011 edition of the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers includes an article from a UK law firm who use DropBox to share files with expert witnesses and others.

What the iPad Lawyer needs is an enterprise grade solution which syncs as smoothly as DropBox, but:–

• has terms and conditions which comply with the 7th Data Protection Principle
• guarantees that data will be stored in the EEA or is a member of the US Safe Harbour Scheme (to avoid 8th Data Protection Principle issues).

For the last few months I have been testing a system called ProjectFusion which satisfies both of these criteria. Disclosure:– I have been trialling it for free up to now.

ProjectFusion is primarily an online deal room service (i.e. a secure extranet which can be used to share due diligence and other documentation with people outside your firm).

The servers are located in the EU and their terms and conditions contain the necessary provisons in relation to data protection and security.

What is interesting for iPad users is that the deal rooms themselves are accessible via the WebDAV protocol.

Various iPad apps (including Apple’s iWork suite) have the ability to save documents to WebDAV servers. More importantly so does GoodReader which allows you to view pretty much any document on the iPad (and also annotate PDF documents).

This makes the iPad an ideal tool for reviewing data room documents.

However, it is also straightforward to create an iPad deal room folder in ProjectFusion and then set this up to sync with GoodReader. Once set up a press of the sync button on your iPad will synchronise the local folder on the iPad with the ProjectFusion folder.

To complete the loop you can install GoodSync on your PC, Mac or both, which will automatically keep a local folder on your machine in sync with ProjectFusion.

Imagine you have a contract on your desktop machine which you want to review on your iPad. All you need to do is save it into the ProjectFusion folder on your desktop machine. Goodsync then syncs it with your iPad folder on ProjectFusion.

When you want to read the document on your iPad you simply hit the sync button in GoodReader and it pulls the document from ProjectFusion to your iPad. If you annotate a PDF then any changes can be synced back in exactly the same way.

This is just as easy as using DropBox to access documents on the iPad, but without the security or data protection concerns.

IOS5 and the iCloud may be game changers in terms of seamlessly syncing your data, but unless you only use Apple products the iCloud won’t be a complete solution.

It also remains to be seen what the Data Protection Act implications of using the iCloud for personal data are. Apple are registered with the Safe Harbour scheme, but I doubt that the terms and conditions for iCloud will impose any binding obligations on Apple in terms of data protection and security.

Project Fusion’s iPad sync functionality is a real bonus if you are looking for an online data room service. No matter how slick the iCloud turns out to be, this type of secure sync is still a must-have for lawyers (especially those who are tied into a mixed PC and Apple ecosystem).