Ever have writer’s block the night before you need to get that 10 page reply brief to the courthouse? Are you struggling with your NaNoWriMo masterpiece? Have I got the “shot in the arm” for you!

Lifehacker broke this little webapp that provides the perfect impetus for writing. Called “Write or Die“, the box provides space for text entry, settings for word length and writing time and “reminder” levels for when you slow down or stray. The latter includes settings for “gentle”, “normal”, “kamikaze” and “electric shock.” And the app makes it hard to lose your punishment-induced work: when you try to close the window, the app asks whether you want to save your text to your clipboard.

The box looks like this:

Now, GET WRITING!!!!!!!

Well, now, looky here! Those who have been reading Advocates Studio may know about my personal quest for a new smartphone. I have been using a Palm Treo 750 and a Blackberry Curve. I have been leaning towards another Palm or Blackberry and have been leaning away from the iPhone due to my impression (prejudice) that the iPhone is chock full of “shiny” but a bit short on business muscle.

But perhaps I now can justify the shiny. CNET is reporting that the iPhone has half the failure rate of RIM’s Blackberry and about a third the failure rate of Palm’s products during the first year of use. Hit the jump for the specifics of the study fueling the report. Below is a copy of the chart from the CNET site:

And, to make matters worse, Apple has now overtaken RIM in smartphone sales, assuming the number two position.

Oooh. I’m getting closer to an iPhone. Be still, my shiny lovin’ heart!

Study: BlackBerry has twice failure rate of iPhone | Latest Wireless News – CNET News

Well, now, looky here! Those who have been reading Advocates Studio may know about my personal quest for a new smartphone. I have been using a Palm Treo 750 and a Blackberry Curve. I have been leaning towards another Palm or Blackberry and have been leaning away from the iPhone due to my impression (prejudice) that the iPhone is chock full of “shiny” but a bit short on business muscle.

But perhaps I now can justify the shiny. CNET is reporting that the iPhone has half the failure rate of RIM’s Blackberry and about a third the failure rate of Palm’s products during the first year of use. Hit the jump for the specifics of the study fueling the report. Below is a copy of the chart from the CNET site:

And, to make matters worse, Apple has now overtaken RIM in smartphone sales, assuming the number two position.

Oooh. I’m getting closer to an iPhone. Be still, my shiny lovin’ heart!

Study: BlackBerry has twice failure rate of iPhone | Latest Wireless News – CNET News

Could it be? The end of lawyers? How is it possible? Paul Lippe over at AmLaw Daily relays an interview with Richard Susskind about his new book The End of Lawyers? (Oxford University Press, Dec. 2008). Susskind previously predicted that e-mail would become the primary method of communication between lawyers and clients and that the Web would become the first stop for lawyers undertaking research. Both true. The title of his new book reveals a more dire revelation. So, how does this bode for lawyers interested in self-preservation?

According to Susskind, not poorly if lawyers are willing to open their minds to new business models. Susskind believes that lawyers that “respond creatively and forcefully to [the] impending demand” of economic crisis and pressure for more work at lower rates will do fine.

It doesn’t seem that far a stretch to understand that lawyers, as a profession, must evolve or be left behind. Take a look at what is happening on-line and its impact on real world lawyering and you will see where the future of lawyering lies. On-line connections and relationships are fueling off-line business at an increasing rate. Availing themselves of the wealth of information available on the Internet, potential clients have a greater sense of the “nuts and bolts” of the practice of law and will look for cost-effective ways to secure services, including a la carte options and outsourcing. Oh, I get it now. Perhaps Susskind is not so prescient after all!