Law students in these modern times are certainly equipped with more technology than any generation of law students that came before them.
However, not much of that new tech is actually going to help with law school. Beyond a laptop and smartphone, you don't need much more. Sure, an Apple Watch might look great and be helpful in the gym, but in the classroom, it's an unneeded distraction, but one you might still want.
Below, you'll find a shortlist of unnecessary tech that can help you stay focused, healthy, and succeed in law school.
High Tech Paper
Apparently, according to science (and Popular Mechanics), you learn better when you handwrite class notes. But that doesn't mean you have to kill trees and ignore the modern world we live in. Now-a-days there are high tech notebooks (like the Rocketbook Everlast) that will allow you to take handwritten notes, easily upload and sort those notes to the cloud service of your choice, and then physically (and perfectly) erase the notebook for repeated use.
Activity Monitors
While a smart watch might not be the smartest thing to wear in the classroom, these (and other fitness trackers like the FitBit) can be excellent devices for law students to own and use. These devices tend to help individuals stay motivated to keep active and live a healthy lifestyle. And though you might not have that much time for getting exercise, keeping physically active is good for your mind and body. Take a look at Business Insider's list of best wearables and activity monitors.
Tablets
While tablets have come a long, long way since the first iterations hit the consumer market, these are still largely unnecessary luxuries. A laptop is much more practical than a tablet. Regardless, you may already have one, or might want one to use for reading, or notetaking in class.
Unfortunately, unless you can get your textbooks scanned, there might not be much assigned reading for you to read on your tablet. However, a tablet can be great for accessing and reviewing your class notes and outlines in the cloud, especially during exam time. And in the last couple years (likely thanks to the Microsoft Surface), physical keyboards for tablets have gotten really good, and actually make tablets much more usable in the classroom and for school in general.
Related Resources:
- Back to Law School Tech Choices -- No Brainers and Not Needed (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Westlaw Edge Puts AI to Work for Lawyers (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Best Computer Bags for Lawyers (FindLaw's Technologist)
