“Siri, which juror should I strike?” As nice as the fantasy is, a machine will never be able to pick a jury—no, not even the iPhone’s personal assistant can apply the critical ingredient of human judgment to that important task. Still, technology can play an increasingly viable and useful role in [...]

If you have been away from the workplace for an extended period of time, re-entering the job market can feel overwhelming, even frightening. People returning to work normally experience myriad emotions, both positive and not so positive. It is challenging, yes; impossible, no. Even in the current marketplace, lawyers do find jobs—good jobs. However, it will take persistence, creativity and a good plan.

Perhaps you’re an insatiable traveler, never quite at home unless you’re not at home. Perhaps work regularly tears you away from the comforts of home, and you’re always looking for ways to make it less of a pain. Or maybe for you, planning the journey is the best part of the trip—and there’s nothing you love so much as researching every last detail of your one big travel splurge: mapping the itinerary, boning up on local culture, and making endless lists of must-see’s. Well, no matter your travel personality, it’s almost certain there’s a travel app to get you through. For this week’s Friday Five, we dish up a ton of reviews and “best of” lists in the world of travel apps—both iPhone and Android.

If you were selling fruit and customers wanted to buy apples, wouldn’t you make sure you had apples? And wouldn’t you let them know you had apples? Of course you would. But this simple scenario gets so much more complicated when you’re selling something complex, like most legal services.

You’re a new lawyer, launching a new law firm. How do you decide what your hourly rate will be? The ethics rules say that your rate must be “reasonable.” That doesn’t give you much to go on.
You know your rate should be a fair price for the quality of your work, and that it should be competitive with other attorneys in the same type of practice in your community. But can you find out what they charge?

Thinking in terms of business-to-business versus business-to-consumer marketing, are you B-to-B or B-to-C? Your law firm is a business, of course—a “B.” So, is your target client another B, or a consumer—a “C?” If you don’t know the answer, you’d better figure it out. It’s important.

For recording and organizing notes, there are a number of really good apps to consider. And, as is true with all apps, many overlap in functionality. The apps outlined below for the iPad and iPhone have particular strengths that may resonate with the way you work and satisfy your note-taking needs. Check them out and see which ones you like best.

So, maybe this year you want to give a valentine that will seal the deal. Or heal a rift. Or simply say, “I love you!” If this isn’t your first time at the valentine rodeo, you already know there are many, many things a valentine can say—and that a lot of fraught hand-wringing can go into finding just the right one to send just the right message. Then again, for some people there is no hand-wringing (or thinking) at all. If that’s your style then you’re on your own, sweetie! If that’s not your style, we’ve got some great ideas for you.