As a lawyer, having a portable laptop to access your client’s files wherever you are is important. You can take them to court, board meetings, or home. If you want to know which are the best laptops for lawyers, you’re in the right place. With our guide, you’ll have all the information you need to decide on the optimal device for you.
A laptop with great performance and storage for your client’s files will make your workflow efficient. Generally, a durable laptop that will last you at least four years will be a minimum of 1,000 dollars. However, you can still choose a style in your budget that’s compatible with the programs you use. For example, if you use legacy practice management software, then a Windows computer may be a better option.
10 Best Laptops for Lawyers
With so many products on the market, choosing a laptop that’s best for you can feel daunting. To make the process easier, we’ve put together this guide with the top ten choices.
Overview of Specification Comparison
| Dell XPS 13 7390 | Dell XPS 9570 | Apple MacBook Pro | Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | Asus ZenBook 14 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 8th Generation | HP Spectre x360 | Acer Aspire 5 | Acer Chromebook 11 | Huawei MateBook X Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | 11 hours | 9 hours | 10 hours | 11.5 hours | 13 hours | 11 hours | 9 hours | 8 hours | 10 hours | 12-hour average |
| Screen Size | 13.4 inches | 15.6 Inches | 13 inches | 13.5 inches | 14 inches | 14 inches | 13.3 inches | 15.6 inches | 11.6 inches | 13.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 X 1200 pixels | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels | 2256 x 1504 pixels | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 3840 x 2160 pixels | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 1366 x 768 pixels | 3000 x 2000 pixels |
| Processor | 10th Generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 | 4.1 GHz core_i7 | 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 | 1.3 GHz apple_ci7 | Intel i7-10510U | Intel Core i5-10310U | 1.8 GHz core_i7 | 3.6 GHz apple_ci5 | 2.4 GHz celeron_n3350 | 1.6 GHz core_i5 |
| Memory | 32 GB | 16 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 8 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD | 512 GB Flash Storage | 512GB SSD | 256 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD | 256 GB SSD | 32GB eMMC | 256 GB SSD |
| GPU | GPU | Intel® Iris Plus Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | Intel UHD Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | NVIDIA GeForce MX150 | Intel HD Graphics 500 | UHD620 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 AX1650, Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth | 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth | 802.11ax (WiFi 6), Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth | 802.11ac Wifi, Bluetooth 5 | 802.11ax, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11g, Bluetooth | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5 |
| Product Dimensions | 8.15 x 11.69 x 0.51 inches | 9.3 x 14.1 x 0.66 inches | 13.41 x 9.76 x 2.41 inches | 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches | 12.7 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches | 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches | 12.18 x 8.58 x 0.57 inches | 14.31 x 9.86 x 0.71 inches | 11.89 x 8.23 x 0.84 inches | 11.97 x 0.57 x 8.54 inches |
| Weight | 2.90 pounds | 4.41 pounds | 5.95 pounds | 2.8 pounds | 3.3 pounds | 4.84 pounds | 2.93 pounds | 3.97 pounds | 2.78 pounds | 2.93 pounds |
| Stylus | Supports | Supports | No | Supports | Supports | Supports | Supports | Supports | No | Supports |
| Warranty | Dell 1 year | Dell 1 year | Apple 1-year | 1-year hardware | Asus 1-year standard | Lenovo 4-years | 1-year | Acer 3-years | Acer 3-years | 1 year manufacturer |
Dell XPS 13 7390
Dell’s XPS series is one of the best traditional laptops you can invest in for great performance and quality. The XPS 13 7390 is a well-constructed 2-in-1 device that can be a laptop or tablet. The product is cut from a single block of aluminum, has Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and diamond-cut double-anodized sides.
This model is also upgraded with dual thermal fans to help your laptop run cool with long use. It has a MicroSD slot, InfinityEdge touch display, and runs on Windows 10 Home.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 11 hours
- Screen Size | 13.4 inches
- Display Resolution | 1920 X 1200 pixels
- Processor | 10th Generation Intel Core i7-1065G7
- Memory | 32 GB
- Storage | 512 GB SSD
- GPU | Intel® Iris Plus Graphics
- Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 AX1650, Bluetooth 5.0
- Product Dimensions | 8.15 x 11.69 x 0.51 inches
- Weight | 2.90 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | Dell 1 year
Pros
- Durable and withstands scratches
- Has a MagLev keyboard with fingerprint reader
- Lightweight and portable
- Quality 4K display
- Efficient Intel 10th Gen “Comet Lake” CPU
Cons
- Occasional fan noise
- Keyboard is slightly uncomforable
Dell XPS 9570
Dell’s hardware rivals other top brands such as Mac, so you know you’ll get a quality product. The XPS 9570 offers a wider screen with infinity edge anti-glare at a slightly higher price point. The 4K touchscreen and full HD display have precise and accurate colors on a widescreen. It has a great storage capacity to save all your clients’ data easily on one device. This laptop runs on the Windows 10 Home operating system.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 9 hours
- Screen Size | 15.6 Inches
- Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor | 4.1 GHz core_i7
- Memory | 16 GB
- Storage | 512 GB Flash Storage
- GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
- Connectivity | 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth
- Product Dimensions | 9.3 x 14.1 x 0.66 inches
- Weight | 4.41 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | Dell 1 year
Pros
- Value for the cost
- Quality build
- Good six-core processor
- Quality 4K touch screen
- Light for a 15.6-inch laptop size
Cons
- Slightly heavy
- Higher price point
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple provides quality products and excellent customer service for everything you buy from them. If you want reliability and performance that includes enough storage for your work, the MacBook Pro is a great option.
It comes with a retina display, true tone technology, and a backlit magic keyboard. The MacBook Pro operates on the Mac OS operating system that comes with programs specially designed for Macs. You can easily purchase this design with different memory and storage levels.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 10 hours
- Screen Size | 13 inches
- Display Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels
- Processor | 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5
- Memory | 8 GB
- Storage | 512GB SSD
- GPU | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
- Connectivity | 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 5.0
- Product Dimensions | 13.41 x 9.76 x 2.41 inches
- Weight | 5.95 pounds
- Stylus | No
- Warranty | Apple 1-year
Pros
- Execellent performance
- Sleek, portable design
- Customizable storage and memory
- Vibrant retina display
- Backlit magic keyboard
Cons
- No USB-A ports
- No touchscreen capabilities
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Microsoft has made their Surface Laptop 3 up to two times faster than the Surface Laptop 2 and has improved performance. It also has a long battery life that charges from empty to 80 percent in around one hour. This laptop operates on Windows 10 Home and has both USB-C and USB-A ports for great connectivity. It’s also one of the lighter options on this list making it great for portability.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 11.5 hours
- Screen Size | 13.5 inches
- Display Resolution | 2256 x 1504 pixels
- Processor | 1.3 GHz apple_ci7
- Memory | 16 GB
- Storage | 256 GB SSD
- GPU | Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Connectivity | Bluetooth
- Product Dimensions | 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches
- Weight | 2.8 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | 1-year hardware
Pros
- Fast performance
- Improved battery life
- Fast charging
- Lightweight and portable
- USB type A and C
Cons
- High price-point
- Low on built-quality and durability
Asus ZenBook 14
The Zenbook 14 is a unique design with a four-sided NanoEdge and an interactive 5.65-inch touchscreen trackpad display underneath your keyboard. You can easily write on the screen pad or switch items between your main display and the screen pad display.
This laptop runs on the Windows 10 Pro operating system and is a lightweight, portable option. The keyboard is backlit, and a number pad option exists on the trackpad. It also features USB 3.1 Gen 2 type A and C ports, HDMI, DC-IN, USB 2.0, and microSD card reader.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 13 hours
- Screen Size | 14 inches
- Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor | Intel i7-10510U
- Memory | 16 GB
- Storage | 512 GB PCIE
- GPU | NVIDIA GeForce MX250
- Connectivity | 802.11ax (WiFi 6), Bluetooth 5.0
- Product Dimensions | 12.7 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
- Weight | 3.3 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | Asus 1-year standard
Pros
- Unique and quality ErgoLift design
- Touch-screen trackpad
- Long battery life
- Multiple ports and configuration options
- Very portable, lightweight, and compact design
Cons
- Expensive
- Can become hot
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 8th Generation
Lenovo makes some of the best Windows laptops and provides great customer support. Their 8th Generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon has great built quality with a durable 1080p touchscreen display, backlit keyboard, and fingerprint reader. It runs on the Windows 10 Pro operating system and has maximum optional memory and storage options of 16 GB and 1 TB.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 11 hours
- Screen Size | 14 inches
- Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor | Intel Core i5-10310U
- Memory | 16 GB
- Storage | 512 GB PCIe SSD
- GPU | Intel UHD Graphics
- Connectivity | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth
- Product Dimensions | 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
- Weight | 4.84 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | Lenovo 4-years
Pros
- High-quality performance
- Great customer service
- Great keyboard
- Long battery life
- Has various ports and configurations
Cons
- High price-point
- No SD or microSD card slot
HP Spectre x360
The HP Spectre x360 is a durable touchscreen laptop with a 4K HD screen protected with Corning Gorilla Glass. It also features a full-size backlit keyboard, an HP audio boost, and Imagepad with multi-touch gesture support. You can easily run several heavy applications at one-time transfer data at high speed with the USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3.0 ports.
The package comes with an HP stylus pen, laptop sleeve, Windows 10 professional upgrade, and three years of McAfee internet security.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 9 hours
- Screen Size | 13.3 inches
- Display Resolution | 3840 x 2160 pixels
- Processor | 1.8 GHz core_i7
- Memory | 16 GB
- Storage | 512 GB SSD
- GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Connectivity | 802.11ac Wifi, Bluetooth 5
- Product Dimensions | 12.18 x 8.58 x 0.57 inches
- Weight | 2.93 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | 1-year
Pros
- Touchscreen capabilities and stylus pen included
- Corning Gorilla Glass protected screen
- Quality 4K display
- MicroSD card reader
- Great performance
Cons
- Memory isn’t upgradeable
- High price-point
Acer Aspire 5
If you want a budget-friendly option with a 10th generation Intel Core processor, Acer Aspire 5 is a laptop to consider. It has many features usually found on more expensive laptops, such as two built-in microphones, a decent webcam, and a fingerprint reader. It also has a full HD widescreen LED-backlit IPS display and backlit keyboard. You can also easily add a hard drive for extra storage, and the memory is upgradeable to up to 20 GB. This laptop runs on the Windows 10 Home operating system.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 8 hours
- Screen Size | 15.6 inches
- Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor | 3.6 GHz apple_ci5
- Memory | 8 GB
- Storage | 256 GB NVMe SSD
- GPU | NVIDIA GeForce MX150
- Connectivity | 802.11ax, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 4.0
- Product Dimensions | 14.31 x 9.86 x 0.71 inches
- Weight | 3.97 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | Acer 3-years
Pros
- Very affordable price
- Upgradeable RAM and storage
- Backlit keyboard
- Fingerprint scanner
Cons
- Battery life less than average
- Reviews mention customer service concerns
Acer Chromebook 11
If you’re on a budget, you can still get great specs with the Acer Chromebook 11. Its price range has the Intel Celeron N3060’s processing power where you could easily access files, edit documents, and perform case studies.
It has a full HD screen, spill-resistant keyboard, and an additional 100 GB of cloud storage with the disk associated with Google. The chrome operating system (OS) means the system runs completely on the internet. You also still have access to over 2 million applications.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 10 hours
- Screen Size | 11.6 inches
- Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels
- Processor | 2.4 GHz celeron_n3350
- Memory | 4 GB
- Storage | 32GB eMMC
- GPU | Intel HD Graphics 500
- Connectivity | 802.11g, Bluetooth
- Product Dimensions | 11.89 x 8.23 x 0.84 inches
- Weight | 2.78 pounds
- Stylus | No
- Warranty | Acer 3-years
Pros
- Very budget-friendly
- Portable and lightweight
- Quality processor
- Good battery life
- Has additional cloud drive storage
Cons
- Less internal storage
- Old-fashioned design
Huawei MateBook X Pro
This 3k touchscreen laptop is portable, lightweight, and only 0.57-inches thin. It has a fast 8th generation Intel Core i7-8550U processor and an HD screen. If the 512 GB storage is not enough for your files, you can easily upgrade to a maximum of 2TB.
It is also durable and with long battery life. The Huawei MateBook X Pro has a metallic body with diamond-cut edges and a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio. You can enjoy up to 12 hours of video playback, 14 hours of office work, or 15 hours of web browsing. It runs on the Windows 10 Home operating system.
Key Features
- Battery Life | 12-hour average
- Screen Size | 13.9 inches
- Display Resolution | 3000 x 2000 pixels
- Processor | 1.6 GHz core_i5
- Memory | 8 GB
- Storage | 256 GB SSD
- GPU | UHD620
- Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5
- Product Dimensions | 11.97 x 0.57 x 8.54 inches
- Weight | 2.93 pounds
- Stylus | Supports
- Warranty | 1 year manufacturer
Pros
- Fast performance
- Both USB Type-A and Type-C ports
- Long battery life
- Secure One-touch power and authentication button
- Ultra-Thin Bezel of 4.4mm
Cons
- Less storage
- Limited availability
Final Word
The best laptops for lawyers are portable, durable, and come with adequate storage space for all your documents. You want to be sure you can rely on this device to work when you need to access your client’s files in various places. This list of 10 laptops includes suitable solutions regardless of your budget needs.
