Best tablets for lawyers and law school in 2024 – our top picks

The best tablets for lawyers and law school can be tricky to track down, especially with all the options available on the market today.

Most of us can get away with practically any tablet for general usage, such as surfing the net, watching a few movies, the occasional email or videocall. However, if you’re a lawyer, you can actually take make the most of everything a tablet has to offer.

Law requires a ton of paperwork, so having a tablet that’s large enough to store and view a huge volume of legal documents and scans is a complete gamechanger. The tablet’s lightweight design also makes it easy for these to be taken on the go – again, ideal if you find yourself running around to meet clients at a moment’s notice.

They can also be used to access work remotely, which is a must for lawyers who are often called upon when away from the office. And finally, some tablets are incredible for note taking – another excellent feature lawyers can really take advantage of.

We’ve selected a range of tablets based on different price points and operating systems, to kick off your search in the best way possible.

Best tablets for lawyers at a glance

  • Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (4th Gen)
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+
  • Apple iPad 9th Gen
  • Microsoft Surface Pro 9

Best iPad for lawyers – Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (4th Generation)

The iPad Pro with M2 chip is by far one of the best tablets on the market. It is a complete powerhouse, and is for people looking for top-tier performance. For lawyers who are already in the Apple ecosystem, we’d say it’s a no brainer, and here’s why.

The screen itself is one of the best around, and features Apple’s impressive retina display. The retina display was actually created by Apple, and it drastically reduces the appearance of pixels even when looking closely at the screen. For reading documents, fine-print, or making out any not-so-legible hand-writing – this a must-have.

Of course Apple also has their own stylus, in this case the vastly improved Apple Pencil. Having seen this pencil in action, I must say it’s super responsive, looks great, and is ideal for note-taking and annotations. You can also combine this iPad with the Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which has a built in trackpad and mount for the tablet itself. It looks absolutely stunning, and is well worth buying if you want this iPad to replace your laptop setup.

Cameras are always a little bit of an after thought with tablets, for obvious reasons, but when it comes to the needs of a lawyer, it actually pays to have a decent one. There are loads of camera-scan apps available, many of which are actually quite good. Having a 12MP wide and 10MP ultrawide back cameras should ensure that you can capture scans with ease – which could save you a ton of time. It’s also got a 12MP front camera, which is brilliant for conference calls.

You’re also getting Wi-Fi 6E compatibility, which is the best version of Wi-Fi we have at the moment, until Wi-Fi 7comes out. Transferring files, documents, making video calls, and much more should feel lightning fast. Again, a real time-saver.

All day battery, secure Face ID unlock, and super lightweight – we could go on forever praising this tablet. A standout option for lawyers in our opinion.

Best Android tablet for lawyers – SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab S9+ Plus 

Samsung are arguably the best alternative to Apple when it comes to tablets, and we think that if you’re familiar with Android operating systems, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is the one for you.

We’ll start with the processor, which is the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. This chip is a bit of beast, and will make light work of practically any task. It boasts impressive storage too, coming in at 512 GB – which will be more than enough for documents and even a fair few downloaded movies and shows.

The screen is certainly a rival to the iPad’s also. It’s an AMOLED display, which is a type of OLED panel. What that means is that you’re getting strikingly good contrast, color, and brightness. That’s brilliant for watching movies, sure, but it’s also excellent for low-light usage as it’ll reduce glare. Since lawyers tend to work into the early hours of the morning, that’s a big win in our books.

In terms of the battery, Samsung always impress. The Tab S9+ has a massive 10,090mAh battery, which is essentially the size of two high-end smartphones. Again, a real win for anyone having to be constantly on the move. Speaking of being on the go, this tablet is also surprisingly well protected against the elements, featuring an IP68 rating. In fact Samsung boast that this one of the only water and dust resistant tablets on the market.

Samsung’s answer to the Apple Pencil is the incredible S-Pen, that has a few extra note taking features that are well worth experimenting with.

Wi-Fi 6E, ultra slim bezels, DeX mode for a more PC-like experience, and a 12MP front, 13MP/ 8MP back camera setup are just the icing on the cake with this tablet. For lawyers, we’d highly recommend this.

Best tablet for law school and students – Apple iPad 9th Gen

If you’re a law student looking for a tablet for law school, we’d advise leaning towards something that provides some great bang for your buck. For a more budget option that we think delivers the goods, we’d say the 9th Gen Apple iPad is the way to go.

This iPad features the still impressive A13 Bionic Chip, that is one level down from the M1. This iPad is still popular to this though, as for those who may not need the power of the M1 chip, it provides an excellent, cost effective alternative.

We’ve already gone over one iPad in this guide, so the big question is, how does this compare to the Pro and are you missing out?

In short, the Pro is more powerful, has Wi-Fi 6E compatibility, face ID unlock, and a better camera set. The 9th Gen iPad is compatible with Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, and it has decent battery life too.

If you’re a law student, this is an excellent, lightweight alternative to lugging around a laptop, and more than capable of assisting you in all your law-related tasks and studies.

Best Windows tablet for lawyers – Microsoft Surface Pro 9

A great alternative to an Android and iOS tablet can be found with the epic Microsoft Surface Pro 9.

This is essentially a super powerful laptop in tablet form, and packs one of the best processors around – an Intel 12th Gen i7. Combined with 32GB of RAM (more than the laptop I’m working on right now) and a massive 1TB of storage, and you’ve got something that’s more than capable of handling anything you can throw at it.

This comes with Windows 11 home operating system and Microsoft Co-pilot, which can assist you using Ai. Microsoft also have their own stylus, the Surface Slim Pen, that can be used to effectively for note taking on the fly.

When it comes to the display, it’s actually one of the larger options in this list and boasts an impressive 120hz refresh rate, for super smooth on-screen movement.

What stands out to me about this tablet though, is its built in keyboard and kickstand. This tablet truly transforms into a laptop in a flash, and it looks super sleek too. It’s 15.5h battery life is also quite punchy considering how powerful this tablet is.

Now this is a super expensive tablet, so it’s not for everyone. It’s also one of the heaviest, coming in at 1.9 pounds. But if you’re looking for something that provides the flexibility of a tablet with the power and functionality of a laptop, then this is the one for you.

Frequently asked questions

Are iPads good for lawyers?

We’d say yes, absolutely. They allow you to easily store documents for review, make handwritten annotations on the fly, and have cameras that are good enough to work with photo-scan apps.

Which tablet is best for law students?

Based on our current picks in this guide, we’d say the iPad 9th Gen with A13 Bionic Chip is the best tablet for law students, thanks to its affordability and performance.

What is the best tablet for lawyers?

We’d say the iPad Pro 4th Gen with M2 chip is the best tablet for lawyers right now. It ticks every box you can think of when it comes to performance, and works fantastically well with the Apple Pencil. Combining it with the Magic Keyboard is a must if you want to use this iPad to replace your laptop or PC entirely.