Breaking up your studying with activities that rejuvenate you such as a walk, hike, meditation, a podcast are necessary during your bar prep. Such breaks can help you avoid burnout, stick to your goals and see results on the bar exam. Every now and then you may be in the mood for some screen time and a Netflix night may be exactly what you need!
While a law-related show sounds like the last thing you want to see when you’re trying to break away from your studies, sometimes a good Netflix show or movie can help you by giving you a hypothetical to jog your memory on a law topic, to practice what you know, to help you relax, or simply to inspire you to keep going. Below are some series that may do just that for you:
The Staircase
Looking to see the law in action? Without spoiling too much, after the mysterious death of Michael Peterson’s wife, (hint: has to do with a staircase), Mr. Peterson was charged with first-degree murder. The docuseries takes place over the course of sixteen years and walks you through his murder trial. Throughout the series, you get a firsthand look into Mr. Peterson, his family, and his attorney’s strategies. Seeing the trial unfold really brings evidence, criminal law, and civil procedure to life. Moreover, there are theories floating around as to what really happened, which can be the suspenseful and exciting break you need.
RBG
If you are looking for some inspiration, RBG is a great choice! RBG is about the career and life of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg also widely known as the Notorious R.B.G. RBG is an inspiring account of her trailblazing journey through being one of nine women in a class of nearly 600 students to attend Harvard Law School and her landmark work on gender equality and women’s rights. You also get to see the fun and personal side of RBG and one of her best friend’s, the late Justice Scalia, and accounts from her granddaughter, a Harvard Law graduate (how awesome is that!).
The Kalief Browder Story
The Kalief Browder Story walks through the tragic case of Browder, who was jailed for three horrifying years when he was a teen, despite never being convicted of a crime but accused of stealing a backpack. The six-part series takes you through an overview of the case, interviews, evidence and footage, and scenes from Mr. Browder’s life. Watching and learning about this criminal justice system failure will stick with you and remind you of the critical role attorneys play to make improvements and our commitment to justice in the legal system.
Dirty John: Betty Broderick
Dirty John is a true-crime series and the second season tells the scandalous story of Betty Broderick. Specifically, it’s the detailed account of her contentious divorce from Mr. Broderick, an attorney, and the events leading up to Ms. Broderick shooting and killing her ex-husband and his new wife. You will get to see some family law issues in action as a good chunk of the episodes take you into the five-year divorce proceedings, which raised issues regarding the division of assets, and separation. Moreover, the murder trial, will definitely jog your criminal law murder rules and defenses.
Headspace
While this is not law-related, it is related to your mental health for studying law! As you may already know, studies show that meditation benefits are great for increasing focus and managing anxiety. If you have been looking to give meditation a try but did not know where to begin, then look no further than Netflix’s Headspace series as an excellent way to de-stress, help you improve your sleep and ease your tension. Integrating a meditation practice into your studies may be the game changer that you have been looking for.
Headspace has helpful guides and even an interactive kind to help you relax. The headspace series includes a “Guide to Meditation,” “Guide to Sleep” and the interactive “Unwind Your Mind.” The Headspace guides takes a user-friendly and animated approach to help you see the various benefits and aspects of meditation and you even get to experience it with a guided meditation at the end of each episode. Some of the topics include “How to Get Started” To “How to Achieve Your Limitless Potential.”“Unwind Your Mind” is an interactive experience which you can personalize according to your mood or state of mind. I especially like that each episode is short, so you can browse through for an episode that you are most interested in, and you likely won’t be tempted to “binge-watch.” This is definitely a new and more accessible method for achieving stress relief, so be sure to check it out!
Whichever you may be in the mood for, be sure to take that break for yourself and make the most of it. Comment below your favorite Netflix bar break show!
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