Well, the holidays are upon us, so the hunt begins in earnest to find the right gifts for lawyers. Lawyers are a singularly difficult group of people to find gifts for and--almost to a person—they really don’t like any gift with the trite “scales of justice” slapped on it. To help their families and friends, I began publishing the Holiday Gift Guide for lawyers in 2005.
This year completes a decade of providing this service to friends and family of lawyers. Each year I gather new ideas from my fellow bar members, and peruse the latest and greatest items for lawyers across the internet and beyond. I now get hundreds of emails annually from people and companies who want "in" on the gift guide. Only one or two make it because most, well, they just don’t understand lawyers. So after a year of fun searching, I am pleased to share with you the2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers:
The LiveScribe Sky Wifi SmartPen can record both your handwritten notes and audio, and then automatically transfer these to your Evernote account for use and playback on almost any type of computing device. Tap anywhere on your notes and to replay the audio from that exact point in time. Great for lawyers during depositions, witness prep, CLE lecture, or just about anywhere!
If Supreme Court justices can have their own bobble heads, why shouldn’t that supreme lawyer in your life have one too? Custom bobble heads are fun and affordable, and from the ones I’ve seen, accurately capture their subject. About $100 from Bobblebobble.com.
The tablet market is quite saturated this year, however, the iPad Air 2 really stands out above the rest. It is lighter, more powerful than before, and the screen is amazingly sharp and crisp, making it the clear winner for 2014. Many lawyers have an iPad, but they are probably 3 to 4 years old no, so the processor is much slower and the screen less sharp. Your lawyer will love the upgrade to better performance. While you’re at it, upgrade the storage capacity to at least 64 GB.
Over the years I’ve stayed away from suggesting professional books as holiday gifts for lawyers, but the MacSparky Field Guide e-books break the mold. Written by litigator/legal technologist David Sparks, these e-books use a variety of imbedded media to teach skills that lawyers can use in their professional and personal lives. I recommend lawyers start with the ebooks Email and Paperless, both of which I have read and learned a great deal. Available from the iBookstore, and a perfect addition to that new iPad Air 2!
Once again I am pleased to feature great stocking stuffers from on-line artist/craftsmen site, Etsy.com, including the “Gladiator in a Suit” shirt collar stays, the Lawyer’s Prayer plaque (which I have not seen anywhere before), and a wonderful lawyer heart charm.
Etsy also features a number of hand-made leather laptop and briefcases that are sure to please lawyers of both genders, ranging in price from $85 to $600 or more.
Une Bobine is a USB Charge+Sync+Stand accessory that I have found to be incredible handy for my phone. The coiled “goose-neck” cable is flexible yet rigid enough to hold a mobile phone (even my iPhone 6+) in a handy eye-level position when plugged into your computer monitor USB port. This Kickstarter-funded product has a weird name, but at $35 is a winner. (Yes, they sent me a free one, but I had no idea it would be so helpful as to end up in my HGG!)
The Bartendro 7 from PartyRobotics may not look like much under the hood, but this “bartender in a box” can automatically mix and pour hundreds of cocktails for your holiday party. Add up to 7 bottles of liquor, mixers, or other liquid flavorings, then use the smartphone app to have Bartendro precisely dispense custom cocktails each and every time. Also available in a 15-bottle version. Perfect for a law firm party or for that lawyer in your life who really loves a good time!
Fascination for Powered Personal Transportation Systems continues to grow, thanks, in part, to Segway and now the Hovertrax. Developed by Inventist, the same folks that brought us the SoloWheel (featured in last year's guide), the Hovertrax is a more compact form of powered personal transportation. Forget parking at the crowded courthouse when you have the Hovertrax in your briefcase! $995 from Inventist.
We’ve come to expect judicial ratings and ethics opinions from the American Bar Association (ABA) so why not wine too. Yep, w-i-n-e. The ABA recently launched the ABA Wine Club so lawyers can enjoy the vinosity of a wide selection of types and vintages. The club features three levels, regular deliveries, and special pricing for ABA members and non-members. Curated wine shipments by the Terlato Wine Group, representing the largest portfolio of 90+ rated wines.
There are hundreds of portable Bluetooth speakers on the market today, but I drooled when I saw and heard the new Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A2. It isn’t the smallest portable speaker, but with B&O engineering and design, any music-loving lawyer will want to take this everywhere!
The New Yorker Book of Lawyer Cartoons is a classic collection of cartoons from the magazine that poke fun at judges, lawyers, and the legal profession. A must for every lawyer’s desk or office!
It took only one smoky, juicy, tender beef brisket from my new electric Masterbuilt Smoker to know that it was a sure thing for this year’s gift guide. About the size of a dorm refrigerator, it is the tastiest and easiest way to smoke fish, meat, and just about anything else (including killer macaroni & cheese) that will bring out the carnivore in your favorite lawyer! Set the digital time and temp, add wood chips, and then monitor your meat via remote temperature gauge. The best deal I’ve found for these is on Amazon, especially if you have Amazon Prime.
The biggest problem with padlocks is that you either lose the key or forget the combination, rendering them useless. Enter the Noke Bluetooth padlock that opens with an app on your smartphone. This Kickstarter-funded first-of-its-kind product from FuzDesigns ships in April 2015. (Not a long time to wait for a really helpful product!)
Stump Your Lawyer: A Quiz to Challenge the Legal Mind is a described as “a hilarious tour of the quirks and curiosities of the our legal system”—and what lawyer can resist showing off how much they know about it! Sounds like the perfect guift to me! Available at TheBillableHour.com (along with other great gifts) or in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon.
For more ideas, visit the past nine editions of this gift guide, as many of the ideas are timeless and still available across the internet.
Here's hoping you and your favorite lawyer have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a safe and prosperous New Year!
It's been a month since I got my new iPhone 6+, and I waited this long to report on it because I wanted to put it through its paces and live with a little bit see the pluses and minuses. No pun intended.
Prior to my purchase, I spent a good deal of time trying to think whether I wanted the new 6+. I knew both the iPhone 6 and 6+ would be bigger than my iPhone 5, but I wasn't sure how much extra screen real estate I would need. So I decided to get the 6+, knowing that I could return it up to 14 days after receiving it if I didn't like it. Just about every day that I've used it at least several people ask me if that is the new iPhone 6+ and ask me how I like it. To be honest, I tell each of them I'm still getting used to it. That's my answer a month later: I'm still getting used to it.
I really do like my iPhone 6+ and I like the new iOS 8 that's on the phone. But my question still remains today do I need the size of the iPhone 6+?
At my age of being over 50, it is much easier to read the emails and other text on a larger screen. There's no doubt that this is a big benefit. It also allows me to view pictures and show pictures and videos from my phone that you just can't do on the older iPhones and even the new 6. The screen real estate really is helpful but is it really necessary.
The one noticeable drawback is the size the iPhone as you put it up to your ear. It is gigantic when so positioned. One of my teenage sons saw me calling on my new phone and said "Dad, you look like you're calling on a Palm Pilot." Ok, so I've raised a techno-smartass, but it does hearken back to those earlier days of mobile phone technology, so it gives the impression of being a bit awkward. A headset is required (which I use most the time to make calls) so it doesn't look quite as vintage. I'll report soon on the perfect headset match to the new iPhone 6+.
But the biggest drawback so far has been where to store it. We all know about the bending of the phones, so it's not ideal to carry in your pants pockets. So unless I'm wearing a jacket with a pocket it's hard to safely carry around. Women I know with larger Samsung's and the iPhone 6+ carry their phones in a protective case in their purse. Good resolution, but I don't do that and most guys don't either.
I've seen this holster for the iPhone it looks a bit extreme but actually upon reflection is a pretty good idea--as long as you keep your suit jacket on. It would like silly otherwise! I did find a leather holster case with belt clip, but it that has drawn snickers of it being a new type of fanny pack or man purse. One of the problems right now is the inventory of cases for the 6+ is very limited. Be aware that many so-called iPhne 6+ cases are generic and don't fit the phone particularly well. I've found a few nice ones on Etsy, but they are handcrafted and back-ordered until Christmas. I'll keep searching because I know the right one will show up soon.
One other thing I've started to notice in the past few days is that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 look tiny when I see people using them. How can they work on that miniscule screen and keyboard? It's all about one's perspective.
Bottom line: I enjoy the features and screen size of my new iPhone 6+ but still have to resolve how to best carry it with me wherever I go, because after all isn't that the point of a mobile phone?
