June 29, 2026

Many lawyers have Microsoft 365 subscriptions and use Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint all day from a desktop computer. However, if you have not installed the Microsoft 365 mobile apps on your iPhone or Android device, you are missing out on some practical tools. Outlook and Teams are the obvious choices for email, calendar, chat, and meetings on the go. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Copilot can also help when you need to review a document, capture information, look up a file, or make a quick edit away from your desk.

Where to Get the Apps

Where can you get the apps? Start with the app store for your device. On an iPhone or iPad, open the Apple App Store and search for Microsoft 365 Copilot, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Teams, or OneDrive. On an Android phone or tablet, open Google Play and search for the same app names. As with any app, make sure you are downloading the official Microsoft version and not a look-alike app.

Many lawyers will want Outlook and Teams for communication, OneDrive for file access, and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for creating, reviewing, and editing work product.

After installing an app, open it and sign in with the Microsoft account connected to your Microsoft 365 subscription. For most law firms and organizations this will be your work email address and password. If you have a personal subscription, use the Microsoft account connected to that subscription. Once you sign in to one Microsoft app, that account is often available in the other Microsoft apps installed on the same device.

Some features are free on phones and tablets, but premium editing tools require a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. If your firm manages mobile access with tools like Microsoft Intune, the first sign-in may require a few extra steps. You may be asked to approve a prompt, create an app PIN, or follow the firm’s app protection requirements. Do not work around those prompts. They are there to help protect firm and client information.

Chromebook users may be able to install the Android versions of the Microsoft 365 apps if the device supports the Google Play Store. If not, use Microsoft 365 through a web browser at Microsoft365.com. On a Surface Pro or Windows device, you will usually install the desktop version of Microsoft 365 rather than the mobile apps.

What the Mobile Apps Can Do

The Microsoft 365 mobile apps are not just lightweight viewers. With a qualifying subscription, the mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams let you create, review, edit, share, and collaborate from an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, or Android tablet. Some features depend on your plan and device size. However, if you already pay for Microsoft 365, the mobile apps can help you get more value from the subscription.

Word

Word on a phone is useful for reading and reviewing documents, especially when you are not trying to do serious formatting. Mobile View reformats a document so it is easier to read on a small screen. Print Layout lets you check how the document will appear on paper. If the document uses headings, you can move through the sections more quickly. Word mobile is also handy for leaving comments, responding to comments, tracking changes, dictating text, and making a quick correction before a document is sent.

Excel

Excel on a phone is not where most people want to build a complicated spreadsheet. However, it is very useful for quick review, simple edits, and data capture. One particularly helpful mobile feature lets you take a picture of a printed table and turn it into spreadsheet data. That can save time when information comes in on paper, in a handout, or in a screenshot. Excel mobile is also useful for checking totals, reviewing a chart, making a small formatting change, sorting or filtering a simple list, and sharing a workbook from OneDrive or SharePoint instead of emailing another copy.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint on a phone or tablet is useful when you need to review slides, make small edits, or present without hauling out a laptop. Presenter View lets you see speaker notes while presenting. Rehearse with Speaker Coach lets you practice privately and get feedback on pacing, filler words, inclusive language, and whether you are just reading from the slides. The mobile app is also useful for adding comments, reviewing a deck shared through OneDrive or SharePoint, saving ink annotations from a slide show, and adding a photo from your phone without having to transfer it to a local computer or shared cloud drive.

OneNote

OneNote is one of the most practical Microsoft 365 mobile apps because it is built for quick capture. From a phone you can jot notes, organize information in notebooks, add photos, capture whiteboards, record ideas, and keep meeting notes synced across devices. It is useful when you need to preserve an idea after a conversation, grab a photo of a conference slide, keep a quick checklist, or collect non-confidential research notes that should be available from both your phone and your desktop. Don’t forget you can dictate to OneNote,

Outlook

Outlook is often where legal professionals spend much of the day, so the mobile version is worth setting up well. You can customize swipe actions, take bulk action on messages, switch between accounts, manage notifications, use Focused Inbox, and respond quickly when you are away from your desk. One useful mobile workflow is turning an email into a calendar event or meeting when the message contains the details you need for a follow-up. Outlook can also add certain events from email to your calendar, including travel reservations, hotel bookings, rental cars, package deliveries, and other supported event types. The search function is also strong, which helps when you need to find people, events, attachments, documents, or reservations without scrolling through folders.

Teams

Teams is the mobile app for calls, meetings, chats, and channel conversations. It is especially useful for joining a meeting when you are away from your computer, replying to a chat, reviewing shared files, sending a quick voice or video message, and getting notifications for time-sensitive conversations. Teams also keeps meeting access, shared documents, and channel discussions in one place. For many lawyers, Teams and Outlook together cover most of the daily communication needs when they are out of the office.

OneDrive and SharePoint

OneDrive and SharePoint make the mobile apps much more useful because they give you access to current versions of documents from wherever you are working. OneDrive’s mobile scanner (which replaced Lens) is a standout feature. You can scan a whiteboard, document, business card, or photo, crop or rotate it, add text or highlighting, and save it directly as a PDF in OneDrive. Multi-page scanning is useful for receipts, handouts, signed forms, and paper notes that need to be stored with the rest of your files. The mobile apps also let you search for files, mark items for offline access, share cloud files, and collaborate without emailing copies back and forth.

Copilot

Copilot on mobile is useful if you have access to it through your Microsoft 365 subscription. Use it when you have a few minutes between meetings and need to summarize a document, draft a starting point for a message, find information across Microsoft 365 content, or get oriented before opening the full file on a desktop computer. Available features vary by plan, app, and rollout. Like the other mobile apps, Copilot on a phone is not a replacement for the desktop experience. It is a way to use small pockets of time more efficiently.

Other MS 365 Apps

Microsoft 365 offers more than just the standard Office suite. Task management tools like To Do, project management app Planner, collaboration product Loop, video sharing platform Stream, and many more of the programs you use in the MS 365 suite have their own apps. If you use them on your desktop or in the browser, you might find them handy to have on your mobile device.

Security Tips for Mobile App Users

Mobile access is convenient, but it also puts work documents, email, calendars, chats, and client-related information on a device that is easy to lose, share, or use on public networks. Start with the basics. Use a strong device passcode, turn on biometric unlock if your device supports it, keep the operating system and apps updated, and install Microsoft apps only from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Turn on multifactor authentication for Microsoft 365 whenever it is available. Microsoft recommends and may require using an authenticator app because it adds a second layer of protection beyond the password. This matters on a phone. A saved password, stolen password, or lost device should not be enough to give someone access to email, files, Teams conversations, or cloud storage.

Be thoughtful about where files are saved and shared. Use OneDrive or SharePoint for work files instead of saving copies to the phone’s local storage or sending attachments back and forth. When you share from a mobile app, pause long enough to confirm the recipient, review the sharing settings, and make sure you are sharing the right version of the file. If the information is confidential, sensitive, or client-related, avoid quick sharing from a phone unless you are sure the permissions are correct.

Use extra caution on public Wi-Fi. If you need to review email or files while traveling, use your phone’s cellular connection or a trusted network when possible. Avoid opening sensitive documents, approving sign-in prompts, or working with confidential information on an unsecured public network. If your firm provides a trusted VPN or another secure access method, follow that policy.

Do not approve sign-in prompts you did not initiate. If Microsoft Authenticator, Outlook, or another Microsoft app asks you to approve a sign-in and you are not actively signing in, deny the request and report it if your organization has a process for doing so. Unexpected prompts can be a sign that someone has your password and is trying to complete the second step of authentication.

Lawyers and law firm staff should also think about device notifications. Lock screen previews can expose client names, matter details, meeting subjects, or message snippets to anyone nearby. Consider turning off message previews for Outlook and Teams, especially if you use your phone in court, client meetings, conferences, airports, or shared workspaces.

If your employer or firm manages mobile access, follow the prompts instead of working around them. Microsoft Intune app protection policies can require a separate app PIN or biometric check, limit copying and pasting work data into personal apps, restrict where work files can be saved, and allow the organization to remove work data from the apps if a device is lost or a person leaves the organization. These controls may feel like extra steps, but they help keep firm and client information separated from personal apps and accounts.

Finally, plan for a lost or replaced phone before it happens. Make sure your account recovery information is current, know whom to contact if the device is lost, and understand whether your organization can wipe only work data or the whole device. A little preparation makes it much easier to protect Microsoft 365 data without disrupting personal information stored on the same phone.

Conclusion

No matter which type of smartphone you use, there is always more to learn. Microsoft 365 on your phone is not just for emergencies. The mobile apps are best for quick review, light editing, search, file access, comments, meeting preparation, calendar management, and capturing information at the moment it is easiest to collect. The phone will not replace the full desktop experience for complex drafting, formatting, or spreadsheet work. However, it can reduce friction, help you respond faster, and make better use of small pockets of time.