I usually limit my participation in this blog to comments but given our recent discussions in class related to lawyer disaster preparedness and the chaos in Houston after relatively mild Cat 1 hurricane Beryl due to extended power outages, I wanted to mention a particular type of product that can keep you online and working from your smart phone and laptop for several days in the event of a power outage.
These devices are essentially the small cell phone battery packs on steroids. They don't fit in a pocket, but they will sit on a desktop or countertop. Most will charge a modern laptop like a MacBook Air/Pro or any of the Windows machines from HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, etc., multiple times while still having enough juice to keep your smart phone working so you can use its tethering (Wi-Fi, USB or Bluetooth) features to connect your laptop to the internet.
This Jackery (a brand I have found reliable) includes not just the battery pack, but also a folding solar charging panel so you can recharge it using the sun if the power outage lasts more than a couple of days (as it seems to be doing in Houston).
At nearly $300, something like this may be overkill for a law student. Once you are in practice and your livelihood depends on staying online, the investment will seem minimal.
If you compare the price of this item to the cost of lost billable hours, it's a great investment!
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