Sep 8, 2013

10 Must-Haves for Law Students

A cool demeanor and carefree attitude may help you survive law school but this 10 must-haves are the basic 'tools' of the trade to help you have some semblance of sanity and organization in your day to day existence in law school:



1. Laptop or PC
In the age of the internet, a laptop or desktop PC is an indispensable tool to search and digest cases, encode case summaries, and research relevant jurisprudence online.



2. Sturdy Bookstand
Considering the number of books law students read and the weight and volume of the SCRA and law books, a tidy, sturdy and foldable book stand is a must!


3. A tablet
If you must, a tablet is an alternative to a heavy laptop, for those easy to browse version of the case digests, this tablet can be real handy.



4. A Wifi Connection
As pointed somewhere else above, fast and reliable wifi connection is a must. I'm glad most law schools are already wifi connected.

5. A sturdy Bag
Need we say more? Law books are a pain in the body and back and to carry so make sure to have a great backpack that will last any law student 6 months and more. Some popular brands may be had if it's within your budget. But really, I trashed a 10-day old bag Big name backpack which costed me P3,500 about three years ago. So make sure to do a test run, Or I should be making bags especially for law students. Pick a nice one with interesting colors (to help color your dreary day). Choose according to function and perhaps a dash of fashion and you'll never go wrong. But remember, brand name popularity doesn't always translate to that bag able to withstand the rigors of a 5-kilo law book load.

6. Study Haven apart from a school library or home
Let's admit it studying can take up 80% (I try to achieve 50%) of a law student's waking hours, so make sure you have some sort of study haven apart from the one in your room or your school library. This is why cafes are such a big hit for law students, but of course not all of them are conducive for studying due to the noise, big number of patrons, and limited space, and parking issues.

7. Set of highlighters
Female law students grab highlighters and use them all the time to highlight everything (well, almost all). Some love them in different hues and colors and they are available in your favorite book stores and school supply stores. It gave me an idea to offer them in my future online store catering to law students and medical students alike.

8. A Speed Reading Training Manual
Yes, it is handy to save up on a lot of time reading. There are some quite great ones out in the market today. I'll dedicate another post on the subject soon.

9. Thick Notebooks (the paper ones)
If you are a doodler, then yes, but for the techie ones, you still need great note-taking notebooks as a back up to you soft files. They can come handy during your review.

10. Study Scheduler/Planner
A great study planner can be had from your smart phones. It helps manage your limited time.

 Quiet a list huh?  I hope most, if not 90% of this list is already part of your arsenal. In case you have some of these missing, head on to Lawsandfound Online Store, you might find some hidden jewels and tricks there.

The Blogger


Hi! I'm a law student from Manila, Philippines.  I did Political Science, then Industrial Relations major in H.R. (postgrad) studies from UP.  I vlog, weightlift, experiment with new makeup looks, try Bollywood and bellydance steps, and rant about my cray life in my YouTube channel.  Once in a blue moon, I create content for another YT channel,  10+ blogs,  20+ FB pages and in HubPages.  Check out my official site.