Essential Law School Supplies

I'm so sorry I missed my post last Thursday, but there will be two today to make up for it! The first one is part of my 1L Prep Series. The summer before your 1L year is full of excitement and nervousness. If you were anything like me, you want to be prepared, but not over prepared. One good way to make sure you are prepared is making sure you have the right supplies. Besides the obvious things like a backpack or purse and a laptop, there are some that most law students may not think about but will definitely end up needing:

Planner- I am huge on being organized, and a planner is my favorite way of doing so. My personal favorite is the Day Designer by Whitney English. Some other great planners are Agendio and Lilly Pulitzer.

Highlighters- Law school is where highlighters go to die. You will use highlighters all the time- for finals, for case briefs, for reading cases, etc. Find a kind that you like and stock up on them now. My all time favorite is Sharpie Liquid Accent Highlighters.

Book Stand- This is not so obvious, but a huge life- and neck- saver. You will spend a lot of time bent over reading casebooks. Placing casebooks on a bookstand while reading will prevent you from always having your next bent down- saving you from pain and double chins.

Sticky Notes- These are perfect for making your to do lists on or for jotting down notes about cases. Definitely stock up on these.

Post It Tabs- Similar to sticky notes, Post-It Tabs are great for sticking inside books. They can mark where you are reading for a class or even just important cases. Almost every law student I know uses these on a daily basis.

Notecards- Buy these now, because during finals you will use all of the notecards and you will not want to make a trip to Target, Walmart, or an office store just for notecards. Notecards are a helpful study tool, no matter if you use them for cases, doctrines, or anything else you need to memorize. Color coded ones can be even more helpful depending on the class.

Binder- I don't necessary recommend binders, but I definitely recommend having some sort of organizational system that you will use throughout the semester and to prepare for finals. Whether it be binders, folders, Google Docs, or whatever, I recommend figuring out what works for you and having the necessary supplies for it.

The Bluebook- For a more in-depth look at the Bluebook, check out my post Tabbing the Bluebook. But for a quick overview, just know that the Bluebook is THE authority on legal citations and that every law student, lawyer, clerk, etc. has a Bluebook and has a love/hate relationship with it. No matter where you go to law school, you absolutely need a Bluebook.

As all of you rising 1Ls are getting ready for law school in the fall, don't forget these essential supplies! What else are you making sure to have for law school? Leave a comment!