The blog for legal pros

Those studying for or who already have a degree in the legal area can find that “lawyer” isn’t the only job available in the legal arena. In fact, with loads of graduates from law schools each year entering the work force, the amount and different types of jobs have changed in step to keep up. Everything from traditional work in legal studies to virtual jobs are out there for the hiring.

To help you get a better grasp of it all, we have included the ten most common and uncommon career paths for new law graduates. There are a few traditional and non-traditional careers and even a few that can help you pay for school. (more…)

Your iPhone can be one of your best productivity tools, especially if you’re an attorney. Your iPhone can go with you everywhere, which makes it easy to keep up with clients and with what’s going on at the office and the courthouse no matter where you go. Here are 17 apps for the iPhone we think you’ll appreciate.

1. Black’s Law Dictionary: Black’s Law Dictionary is one of the most popular legal reference books around, and it’s now available for your iPhone. You can look up any legal expression right on your phone.
2. Bar Max: Bar Max is ranked as one of the best prep tools for the bar you can find. Study right on your phone with this app that quizzes you and gives you your results.
3. Court Days Date Calculator: Calculate the number of calendar days and the number of court days with this application. This app will let you put in a custom court calendar in case your local court doesn’t subscribe to the court days calendar that is pre-loaded.
4. Law Stack: Law stack provides a complete legal library you can carry right on your phone. It’s handy for looking up all sorts od legal references.
5. Kaplan MBE flash cards: If you’re studying for your multi-state bar exam, this is a great tool to help you prepare.
6. Legal Terms Pro: Legal Terms Pro is a professional level legal dictionary that you carry right on your iPhone. You’ll have access to all the legal terms you need in a handy format.
7. Law in a Flash: Criminal Law: If you’re studying for an advanced degree in criminal law, these electronic flash cards are the great study tool. There’s one on torts, too.
8. Ipunchclock: This time management tool is especially for lawyers and their assistants and is great for helping you keep track of those billable hours.
9. iPro Recorder: This handy application lets you use your iPhone as a portable dictation device. Make notes for yourself easily, even when you’re not in the office. It has very simple, one touch recording.
10. A Lawyer Said It: A fun application filled with quotes by lawyers, from Ralph Nader to David Boies.
11. Google Calendar: Check your Google calendar from anywhere. You never have to worry about being out of touch just because you don’t go into the office.
12. Full Screen Web Browser: Does just what it says: lets you browse in full screen. This makes reading web pages so much easier on the eyes.
13. Evernote: You’ll never take notes on paper again. It’s so easy to take notes on your phone and save them or file them.
14. AirSharing: A great way to share files: AirSharing allows you to mount your iPhone or iPod Touch as a wireless drive on any computer, drag and drop files and then view them on your device. You’ll use this all the time to take briefs and other documents out of the office with you so that you can review them later.
15. Bento: A personal database on the go. You can manage all your information in one spot. You can keep client files and all sorts of other files right on your phone with Bento.
16. iBlueSky: A great brainstorming application for getting ideas out of your head an into a document. Take notes, or just get ideas on paper that you want to go over with others later.
17. Remember the Milk: This is a great app for making electronic lists and keeping track of the things you have to do.

These applications offer you lots of ways to make your iPhone a better productivity tool, and to make having it more fun, too. New applications are released every day, so be sure to keep up to date on all the new iPhone applications that come out, so that you can take advantage of the latest and greatest developments for your iPhone. You’re sure to wonder how you ever live without this wonderful tool that keeps both your home life and your work life productive and organized.

If you’re in the position to compile law blogs, or blawgs, you might learn how lawyers, outside the courtroom and in the cybersphere, have become entertainers in their own right to garner attention and clients. In the process, they have opened doors to special interests in legal studies that few may have known about, such as the Feminist Law Professors, a blawg that came on board in January 2009. The following list of top 50 excellent blawgs you may not be reading yet begins in January 2009 and ends in September 2010. (more…)

Those in the legal profession are always on the go. This is just one of the reasons that having an Android is a great tool for work and your personal life. There are plenty of applications that can make life more productive, more fun and that can help you in your line of work. Check out these 19 apps that are great for those in the legal profession.

1. Android RSS: Its a fully functional Android RSS reader created as a way to learn the new Android platform SDK. This project is an ongoing effort to better understand and embrace the Android design philosophy, welcoming comments and additional contributors.
2. Twidroid: This is one of the market leading twitter client on the android platform. You’ll find it easy to keep up with those you follow on twitter and send tweets yourself.
3. Loopt: It connects you to your friends and the places around you. See where your friends are and what they’re doing. Connect on the fly and instantly share photos, comments, and cool places. Turn your phone into a social compass and never be bored or lonely again!
4. Opera Mini: It can browse the entire Web on your Android phone and save time and money. Opera mini is compressing pages up to 90%, making web browsing fast. Synchronize your bookmarks, history, notes and more between your computer and mobile phone. You’ll love browsing the web with Opera Mini, and you’ll save money, too.
5. Voice Recorder: This application is a handy voice recorder. The data are recorded to a SD card. You can also send a data as attached file via Gmail, and use timer and background recording and search by time and date. You’ll use this app to make notes all the time, especially when you’re out of the office.
6. Google Sky Map: A star map for Android. Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a dynamic window on the night sky. When you point your phone up you will see a map of the brightest stars, constellations, and planets in that part of the sky. This cool app shows you the names of the constellations when you put the camera up to them. It has nothing to do with the legal profession; it’s just something you’ll love having on your Android.
7. LSAT Assassin: Get ready for the LSAT with this app.Quizzes and games ensure you’re prepared.
8. To Do Task Manager Pro: Keep your activities organized, and your to do lists in order.
9. Droid Law: Droid Law is the perfect legal reference for when you’re on the go.
10. Lawyers and Legal Jokes: Keep up with the latest lawyer jokes with this app.It will help if you can tell your friends the jokes before they tell them to you.
11. 500 Latin Legal Terms: Learn 500 of the most important legal Latin terms.
12. Law Terms: A great law dictionary right on the go.
13. Lex Digerati: Get legal opinions, analysis and commentary with this application. You’ll find yourself referring to this time and again.
14. The US Constitution: A portable version of the US constitution. Refer to it on the go for legal reference whenever a case of yours is constitutional in nature.
15. Law Glossary: A great listing of legal terms offered by the Missouri Press Bar Commission.
16. Talking Calendar: Keep up with your appointments with a calendar that talks to you!
17. Fake Call Me: Schedule a call to get you out of that boring staff meeting.
18. Time Clock Time Tracker: The perfect app for anybody who bills by the hour. Easily keep track of your time spent on each project.
19. 5001 Amazing Facts: Learn new information and amaze your friends.

You’ll be amazed at how much these applications and others you may find can improve your productivity at home and at work. Keep abreast of all the new legal apps that come out so that you can take every advantage of the benefits that your Android can bring you.

Indeed, the most attracting career choice in a legal field is a lawyer; however, there are many other legal courses are also available apart from a lawyer and are less time consuming and less expensive in terms of legal education. Below are provided some facts from opportunities and aspects of legal career.

1. Lawyers’ themselves works in wider variety and areas of difference according to field of specialization. However, the most common class of lawyers is litigation attorneys also named as trial attorney. They care for clients with perspective of legal disputes that later on get resolved through lawsuit, mediation and negotiated settlement. They interview clients, provide legal services, perform legal research, attend site inspections and do other such tasks.
2. Lawyer’s that help companies to take care of transactional issues are being known as transactional lawyers. A Corporate attorney negotiate a business transaction, draft transactional documents, counsel client, prepare and submit materials to government bodies, perform legal search and supervise closings.
3. In a legal career, the most designated post happens to be Lawyer that is also known by other names too like attorney, counselor, solicitor, barrister or advocate. He is licensed by the state to become a lawyer and advise its clients on the matter of legal issues. Lawyer’s works as act as both advocates and advisors on behalf of their clients.
4. For coming into a legal career one should complete seven years’post-high school educations in order to become qualified to practice law. Its education involves a four year undergraduate degree and three years of law school.
5. Tough lawyers happen to be a diverse group of people with different backgrounds and personalities but certain skill are common to every lawyer. These common skills involve like topics like extraordinary oral and written communication skills, strong analytical skills, the ability to simultaneously balance multiple tasks, leadership skills, etc.
6. Every three lawyers out of four works in private practice either in a law firm or as a solo practice. They also work in variety of organizations like private industry, the government, the judiciary, education and public interest organizations.
7. As depending on numeration of a lawyer it varies from companies to companies and organizations to organizations. It also depends upon lawyer’s practice setting, geographic location and state of the legal job market practice setting. However, median salary for a lawyer accounts to around $94, 930.

Internet law includes the number of legal issues related communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. Though it is not much popular field of law yet with expansion of internet and related crimes it is come into more focus recently. Here are provided some useful web resources related to internet Law.

1. Net Safe Kids: This website is related to various laws and clauses involving pornography and related subjects. Here various laws related to internet crime is discussed in details including The Communications Decency Act (CDA) passed in 1996, The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) in 1998, Sexual Predator Laws and other related laws.
2. Internet Attorney: This website provides intuitive knowledge and learning related to various issues and topics as attached with cyber laws. This website is a very radical platform for activities related to internet like privacy that is the most prominent issue. As some users indulge in frank discussions involving sensitive topics shielding their identity and goes to extent of creating their own fantasies.
3. The Internet Society:  The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non profit organization that was established in 1992 to have a say in topic and issues related to internet standards, education and policy. It has office in Washington DC, USA, and Geneva Switzerland. The organization ensures the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people.
4. CCIPS: The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) is dedicated for implementing the US national strategies in combating computer and intellectual property crimes world over. It is a comprehensive program to deal with issues like electronic penetrations, data thefts and cyber attacks or about critical information systems.
5. BNA Internet Law: It is a free daily e-mail summary of developments in Internet law. This service is provided by Professor Michael Geist, Canadian Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, University of Ottawa. The e-mail service also provides occasional selection from BNA publications from Electronic Commerce & Law Report.
6. Asian Laws: Asian School of Cyber laws is an innovative and intellectual group that develops, evaluates and spread programs for strengthening knowledge and awareness about cyber laws among common masses and people.  Based at Pune, India it is a charitable trust. Its activities include organizing a national conference for knowledge sharing among cyber crime investigators and computer security professionals.
7. BiTLaw: This site focuses and provides the most interactive information on laws and clauses on ‘Cyber Law’ which are still on making and under process by various courts around the world and legal principles related to conduct and commerce in cyberspace are yet to found about and are in state of flux. Yet, still here necessary information is provided for trademark and copyright infringement.

Online masters in legal studies give a wider and broader understanding of the legal system and how it works. It also widens people’s knowledge on their rights and how to take legal action on those who violate these rights.

Online masters in legal studies enable the students pursuing law as a career to be able to attend classes from any where in the world at there own time and at there own schedule. Therefore, when one chooses to study with online masters in legal studies, he is able to save on both time and money as compared to the other institutions where you have to follow their own schedule which at times may inconvenience him. Also, online masters degree allows the students to be able to save on both time and money that would have being used in traveling to attend classing in other institutions.

Another advantage of studying with online masters in legal studies is that there are two different methods used to teach. This include the real time classes whereby the student is taught using a live feed video and the other method whereby the student is taught at his own convenience. This gives the student the option of being taught when he or she is ready to learn and also, it gives the student time to attend other classes while stilling studying.

Like any other institution, online masters degree enables the student to acquire professional skills as well as the knowledge required on how the legal systems operate, and how they can help citizens fight for their rights within the legal system. Also online masters in legal studies equip the students with professional skills and abilities that are needed in the careers related to law. Online masters is able to channel and enhance the student critical thinking as well as improving the writing and research skills, this will come in handy once the student is employed to work in the legal system.

The knowledge gained in online masters in legal studies enables them to be well prepared when it comes to practical knowledge and skills in the legal system, practical skills such as interrogation of the witnesses, conducting investigations and working with legal forms. All students in online masters are able to handle these tasks with relative ease as they receive quality training. Therefore to get quality education on legal study, online masters give the best education.