Best Pen for a Lawyer?

[Freddy]

 

A few years ago, I bought a fountain pen as a gift for an attorney and first thought of a Parker 51 because mine are my favorite pens, but then I decided on a Parker 45 instead, because I thought the filling system would be easier for him to maintain. I chose a gray one with gold-plated trim and flighter cap--attractive but quiet.

 

That's good. 'Tis after all a personal choice..but I'm sure your friend appreciated the gesture.

Me..I carry three to four { 51s} with me..and the aerometric are bullet-proof.....

 

Fred

Edited November 19, 2017 by Freddy

[jmccarty3]

Since ink capacity is important, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Conid bulkfiller (unless I missed it reading quickly through the thread). These are highly reliable, unobtrusive, and hold a ton of ink.

[Runnin_Ute]

Okay, after five pages.... new/modern perhaps a Pelikan M400/M600, previously owned/vintage - I like the Parker 51 either aerometric or vac or a vintage Pelikan. (I have a 140) Or both, granted both hold enough he wouldn't likely need to use the second unless he wanted to.

[flipper_gv]

Since ink capacity is important, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Conid bulkfiller (unless I missed it reading quickly through the thread). These are highly reliable, unobtrusive, and hold a ton of ink.

 

The thread is 10 years old, not sure Conid existed back then.

 

Anyway, best wanswer would be something like a huge Ranga pen eyedropped, Conid or just 2 Parker 51 with an extra fine nib.

[minddance]

Pelikan M600 or M805stresemann.

[mitto]

Parker 51 aerometric.

[chromantic]

Pelikan M600 or M805stresemann.

 

I would also recommend the Stresemann, 405 or 805 depending on your hand size. The law is serious business and the Stresemann is a very serious pen.

Edited November 21, 2017 by chromantic

[EricTheRed]

Easy call, buy him a clear Pilot custom 92 with a fine nib. Its a very reliable piston filler which holds a ton of ink and is a smooth writer. He can keep track of the amount of ink remaining in those long days in court. No way will he run out of ink in one day, regardless of how much he writes in a 16 hour workday. Equally important, its built like a tank and will never crack or leak on his suit or dress shirt (unless he takes it on an aircraft with him and does not leave it nib up).

[Mister5]

Lamy 2000, PFM, Aurora Optima, or Pelikan M215 - if I had to head into court (its been several years thank heavens) or had a client meeting. The PFM doesn't have the best capacity... I can drain that like it was a cartridge converter (but it writes like a dream) so if I had to take a lot of notes, I'd probably lean towards one of the others. I have a CH 92 but alas it's orange - I think the smoke one might be better suited for court. If someone is using an actual legal pad I'd go with extra fine or fine due to the usually questionable quality of the paper.

[TennesseeTrash]

I'm not a lawyer, but I am a law student and I use a bevy of pens. I currently do appellate work and write motions for an attorney and I've clerked for trial judges and an appellate judge. Here are the pens I use and how I use them:

 

Conid Regular Bulkfiller - I have the rounded top version with ebonite cap and demonstrator body. I don't find demonstrators particularly attractive, but it's worth it to know how much ink I have. I had a broad titanium nib on here, but eventually it seemed too soft and I replaced it with a medium stainless steel. I find the stainless allows me to write much faster. I use this for taking notes in class, depositions, while doing research for briefs, and when I'm outlining briefs. I usually switch between Pelikan Tanzanite and KWZ Azure #5. This pen always rides in my shirt pocket.

 

Lamy 2000 - with medium nib. This is a backup to my Conid and I keep some type of blue in here.

 

Pilot Penmanship - with extra fine nib. I use sheaffer skrip red in or red pilot cartridges in here. I use this to proofread briefs I write or another attorney writes. I also used this when clerking for a trial judge and proofing orders because I was the only clerk.

 

Platinum Preppy - extra fine nib. I keep some color other than red, blue, or black in here. Currently it's KWZ IG Green #2. When I clerked for an appellate judge I made proofs to opinions in a color that would stand out from the other clerks' proof marks. Any time I'm working on a document with more than one person I'll use this.

 

Pilot Parallel 3.8 - I keep this filled with Noodler's firefly highlighter ink. I use it on cases I've printed out and court transcripts.

 

Platinum Preppy Highlighter - I fill this with the same highlighter ink as the pilot. I only use this on textbooks. The pilot puts down too much ink and bleeds.

 

Mont Blanc Generation Ballpoint - I keep this in my shirt pocket and keep a blue refill in it. This is the pen I let criminal defendants use to sign plea agreements or write down their information if they're hiring the attorney I work for. When I clerked I let judges borrow it frequently. Any time someone needs to borrow a pen or sign something this is what they get.

 

Pilot Custom 912 with Posting Nib - I have this on the way to replace the penmanship, which is extremely ugly and has a weird cap.

 

I've had a few pens that did not work out for me.

 

Tactile turn gist in titanium - pen is too heavy and too short. The converter does not hold much ink and the ink is frequently trapped in the top. The heaviness of the pen combined with the clip being very stiff made it hard to use in a shirt pocket.

 

Platinum 3776 - This kept drying up if kept nib up. I made a thread about it here, but didn't get much advice about what to do aside from "don't keep it nib up." Since I'm not going to carry a pen horizontally in my shirt I sent it to Mike Masuyama to fix.

 

Pilot CH 92 - pen writes well, but it's shorter than I like and the full demonstrator is not attractive to me. I wish I had gotten a Japanese model that is not clear. I should probably sell it.

 

Hope this is useful!

[jmccarty3]

I'm not a lawyer, but I am a law student and I use a bevy of pens. I currently do appellate work and write motions for an attorney and I've clerked for trial judges and an appellate judge. Here are the pens I use and how I use them:

 

 

Great post, full of practical advice. You're lucky you get to use your pens so much. In medicine, everything goes into the computer, and the software stinks, so it's GIGO.

 

I do get to sign my name a lot to insurance forms that no one ever reads. Our medical records software doesn't communicate with our billing software, so I am allowed to circle the billing codes the EMR gives me on a routing slip that goes up to the front desk. I also am privileged to record when I want to see the patient back. The paper is wretched copy paper, so I stick to EF, F, or Japanese M nibs.

 

Here is what I use at the office. At home I have a lot more fun.

 

Pens:

 

Pilot Custom 823 (Smoke) M

Waterman L'Etalon (blue) F, a long-time favorite of mine

Platinum 3776 Century (black diamond) M

Pelikan M800 (green stripe) EF

 

Inks:

 

Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

Pilot Blue-Black

Sailor Kobe #51 Blue-Black

Monteverde Blue-Black

KWZ IG Blue-Black

Waterman Serenity Blue (for the Waterman)

Akkerman Vermeer's Kobaltblauw

 

Where are you in TN? I went to school in Memphis.

[georges zaslavsky]

Vintage MB149 from the 60's-70's, classic timeless and with a killer nib.

[thx1138]

An erasable pen springs to mind.

[Fermata]

I am a lawyer in Florida with an office in London. In London I keep to a Parker 51, In Miami it needs to be something a little more brash and almost anything goes as long as it looks expensive. My brother has just given me an Aurora with a fine very flexible nib, borderline ok for London but not punchy enough for Florida.

 

You will be amazed how much people notice. Most of my clients come to me because they are in a difficult situation, if I am wearing a Chanel suit and have my Maserati outside the door then many people think in the UK think I will be too expensive but in Miami I am successful.

 

There is a legal stationers in London, they supply fountain pens but only refurbished Parker 51s for GBP190.

[Vmor86]

Hi,

One of the better options that I would recommend is the S.T. Dupont classique ballpoint pen. The Classique pen by S.T. Dupont was created in 1973. The timeless design has pure, sleek shapes with fine, elegant lines. The clip has an inly of Chinese lacquer. S.T. Dupont uses natural Chinese lacquer. It has a sheen and depth that no synthetic varnish can equal, it has a silky pearl-like feel , and is exceptionally hard-wearing and highly resistant to knocks, scuffs and scratches, as well as to heat. The pen can easily be converted into a mechanical pencil, simply by changing the refill. A pencil mechanism (0,7 mm) comes with the pen.

 

If you would like I can e-mail you the S.T. Dupont catalog for 2017-2018 or you can go onto my website to find it at www.artbrown.com.

[pajaro]

Black Montblanc fountain pen with invisible ink.