This is a well-built and solid bag, that would be ideal for either the academic or the itinerant professional. It's a bit more casual than a briefcase, but looks quite professional hanging over the shoulder on a comfortable strap. I have to admit it makes me look a lot more professional than the backpack I'd been using for a few years, and that often had people mistaking me for a student. More importantly, it's solidly built and will protect and provide convenient access to the key items that professionals and academics (like myself) need to carry around with them.
On the outer flap there's a zipper container where you can fit essential papers such as a passport and boarding passes. There's a "sleeve" that allows you to secure the bag onto the handle of a rolling carry-on bag, extra convenient for travel..... Then there's another pouch that you could fill with a cell phone, an ipod or keys and other such items you need easy access to but need to be protected. On the side, there's a mesh pocket that would easily fit a water bottle, but you can zip it up for convenience when it's not being used.
When you open the flap, you find a padded compartment for a laptop, that fits my 15" Macbook Pro perfectly, and that handily keeps it separate from a roomy chamber where I can fit a few folders packed with papers to grade and a couple of books that I'm taking home to prepare for the next day. There's also another zippered pouch with a number of different pockets inside.
There are a couple of other pockets along the back, that you could fill with other random sundries. They seem less useful to me than the rest, since I'd like the back to be flat where it bumps up against my back. Still, on a long trip they might be a convenient place to store a magazine or newspaper or snacks. This is a great bag - I'm quite happy with it.