By Claire Flores, BARBRI Bar Review DLE
Between reading, writing, lectures, meetings, interviews, and social activities, a planner can be a key to your success in law school. If you’re looking for a planner for law school, here are my favorites for this upcoming school year and beyond.
For the Classic Law Student
Moleskine Daily Planner – 12 Month – Large
This is a leather daily planner that looks sharp. The daily pages have simple lines and work as your daily to-do list. I used this planner my 3L year. Every morning I would write down meetings at the top and a to-do list below divided into a Need To Do and a Like To Do list. There’s plenty of extra space to take extra notes. Write the year on the spine, and it can serve as a great memoir and defacto journal for the future. Not so great for monthly planning, but if you put events in your phone, you’ll be set.
For the Glam Law Student
Erin Condren LifePlanner Hardbound Vertical Layout
There is a calendar grid at the beginning of each month, and the weekly pages are vertical. I personally use this right now. It is fantastic for weekly and monthly planning with the full month and week views. The vertical layout of the weekly view lends itself to concise to-do lists. There are three boxes that I use for Appointments, Need To Do, and Like To Do. The thin planner allows you to slip it in next to your laptop in your backpack or tote. Plus, you can personalize it – mine says: Claire, the Esquire… haha not really… But it does say Claire.
For the Very Involved Law Student
This is a massive monthly and weekly 12-month planner. It has a vertical layout with a to-do list and a separate list for appointments. This is perfect for the incredibly involved student who needs to block off every minute for work, law review, class, meetings and studying in conjunction with her ever-growing to do list. My favorite part of this planner is the daily gratitude blank box and the different inspirational quotes on each page. This allows you to take a breath and reflect on the all the good things amid the crazy days of law school.
For the Meticulous Law Student
This one is pretty customizable. Like to bullet journal? You can order the perfect dot gird on every page. Like a traditional planner layout? They have a standard horizontal layout. You can choose your cover design to match your style, as well. Want something loud? Choose the pastel marble print and monogram it. Want something more understated, choose the polka dots or stripe. It is truly versatile and customizable for every taste.
BONUS: Need some ink for your brand new planner? I love the Tombow TwinTone dual tip markers. The small point side never bleeds through your journal, and you can get some serious color coding going. I have the bright and pastel set to cover all my color coding needs.
About Claire Flores
Claire is a graduate from Saint Louis University School of Law Class of 2014. She graduated with a Certificate in Business Transactional Law and Health Law. She has been working for BARBRI for 4 years as a Director of Legal Education, and she served as the Head Representative of BARBRI at SLU Law during her studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas with a major in Marketing Management and two minors in Economics and Literature.
Claire is a licensed attorney in Missouri, a member of the Bar Association of the Metropolitan of Saint Louis, serves as the fundraising chair on the board of the St. Louis Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association, and is a volunteer immigration attorney for the Migrant & Immigrant Community Action Project where she works on affirmative asylum cases for displaced political refugees.
As a Director of Legal Education for BARBRI, Claire works with law students in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma to ’own the bar’ with BARBRI’s cutting-edge bar review program. For the summer, she is working in London at the BARBRI International office bringing BARBRI global.
