Why in the world would anyone combine a stylus and pen? Why in the world would anyone put the stylus nib where the eraser ought to be? Why in the world would you put a cheap ballpoint cartridge in a $35+ pen?
The Alupen Pro iPad stylus poses all of these questions, but it doesn’t provide any good answers.
Guest post by Mary Campbell Gallagher.
Studying for the bar exam is stressful. But it is also your chance to take control and bring together the scattered threads of law that you learned in law school. To succeed, you must plan your life, as the old saying goes, and live your plan. You want to walk into the bar exam knowing that you have done what you set out to do. The results are in the hands of the gods. I assume you’ve read Five Tips for Early Bar Exam Prep. So you’re ready. Let’s go.
Normally this column is about starting a law practice and what my partner and I have been doing to get ours off the ground. I rarely write about the actual practice of law. But in the course of getting advice on starting a firm, I’ve spoken to attorneys whose advice focused more on the practice of law than the business of law firms.
Scott Greenfield, an avvid Lawyerist commenter and criminal defense attorney, has had a lot to say about my column. Although often critical, his comments are intended as constructive criticism, which I welcome. So I contacted Scott and we had a nice phone conversation about practicing law.
Similarly, Noah Geary is an attorney I have worked with as a law clerk. He is another younger attorney. He has his own firm and a good reputation in the legal community. When I told him about the new firm, Noah insisted on taking my partner and I to lunch, where we listened for ninety minutes while he told us about his journey so far and his views on legal practice.
Although the two come from different backgrounds and practice in different states, much of the advice was the same. Some of the advice I appreciated instantly, although I’m sure some of what they said will not become obvious for many years.
You can discuss The Shingle Life in the comments, in the LAB, or on Twitter using the hashtag #shinglelife.
This year’s post about best law firm websites is a little different than the past. In 2010 and 2011, I provided links of sites that I found to be the best representation of great website design in order to provide inspiration for firms that were looking to develop or redesign their websites. I based my choices on my own professional design judgement with a few criteria that I explained.
This year, nominations took place here, on Lawyerist.
Guest post by Jeff Cohen.
For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. – Plato
As a law student or newly minted lawyer, you have utilized the Socratic Method to unravel mysteries such as discerning the rule of law we get from Pennoyer v. Neff. (What the hell was the rule we got from Pennoyer v. Neff by the way? Sorry, it’s been a while…)
Well, regardless, let’s dust off good old Socrates and use his methodology to ask ourselves three questions indispensible to crafting a successful career. Answering honestly may be difficult, but we owe ourselves the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want. – Mark Twain
Minnesota consumer lawyer Bryan Battina got this letter from his nephew, Charlie, who is interested in suing Skyzone, which is apparently an indoor trampoline park.
Two things. First, Charlie’s letter is adorable. Second, INDOOR TRAMPOLINE PARK! Why was I not aware of this?
Lawyers can use an iPad in their practice in more than one way, whether it be for client meetings or in the courtroom.
For attorneys on the go, a frequent complaint is that you still need to bring a laptop, because typing on the iPad is less than ideal. With that in mind, I was very excited to try out the Verbatim Ultra-slim Bluetooth Keyboard.
It turns out the iPad keyboard is much better than I originally thought.
As discussed over at Mashable, a new MasterCard poll reveals that nearly three out of four Americans (73%) say they use less cash today than 10 years ago. Which really shouldn’t come as much of surprise. However, when it comes to lawyers accepting credit card payments for legal services, there seem to be some serious obstacles, as described by at the Andrea Goldman and John W. Marshall at the Massachusetts Bar Association:
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At Lawyerist, we live our lives a quarter month at a time.
(photo: http://flic.kr/p/5dkLUi)
Guest post by Aaron N. Taylor.
America’s love-hate relationship with debt has found a new dread: student loans. With the housing crash still fresh on everyone’s mind, fear of a new bubble filled with worthless student loan debt has come to fore. This heightened (if not hyper) state of concern is understandable.
Topping $1 trillion, student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt (though that may not be a bad thing). Last year alone, students borrowed $100 billion for school. Additionally, a recent study found that 27% of federal student loan borrowers in repayment have past due balances, with 10% being delinquent. Many more are making reduced payments through income-based plans.
This data is concerning and portends an increase of debtors seeking to discharge their student loan debt in bankruptcy. Unfortunately, our means of assessing the propriety of such discharges are woefully subjective and inconsistent. The result is a highly inefficient system that falls far short of notions of justice and fairness. In this article, I propose an objective framework for assessing the propriety of federal student loan bankruptcy discharges.
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