Best Study Strategies for Neurodivergent Law Students

Navigating law school is challenging for any student, and finding study strategies that cater to your learning style plays a critical role in meeting that challenge. However, for the 25% of law students who identify as neurodivergent, traditional study methods simply aren't optimized.

Fortunately, many have been where you are and succeeded with study methods better suited to neurodiverse students. We're excited to share our recent webinars — featuring a current law student preparing for the bar exam and successful neurodivergent lawyers, including Professor Heather Varanini, Golden Gate University's Director of Academic Achievement — that discuss:

• Study strategies optimized for the neurodiverse
• Themis features that complement these strategies
• How to build stamina and prepare for exam day with simulated exams
• Optimizing your study schedule

Read on for curated advice from our panelists, or request to have both webinar recordings emailed to you.

Meet the Panelists

	Professor Heather Varanini, J.D. Director of Academic Achievement at Golden Gate University School of Law, specializing in bar exam preparation and support for neurodivergent students. "I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD in middle school. The medicine I take doesn't give me an extra leg up. It just makes me feel normal.”
	Rebecca Petrilli, J.D. Themis Director, received her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University and passed the July 2017 Ohio Bar Exam. "I was diagnosed with ADHD 5 months ago. I knew there was something different, but I didn't know what it was. I knew that I had a harder time studying than a lot of my peers.”
	Megan Robinson, J.D. Southeast Attorney Director at Themis, has taken and passed bar exams in Florida, Mississippi, and Illinois. "I actually got diagnosed with ADD in middle school. I don't outwardly present as having ADHD, but medication has helped me focus and manage my symptoms better, especially through law school and bar exams.”
	Erin Lindsey Law school graduate studying for the July 2024 New York Bar Exam, and long-time partner with Themis on her podcast, Legally NYC. "I got diagnosed with ADHD the spring before I started law school. Prior to that, I had developed anxiety as a coping mechanism. It wasn't until COVID lockdown that I finally got the diagnosis and started finding the right treatments.”

What is Neurodivergence?

Just as people have different body types, heights, and eye colors, brain function and behavioral traits also vary. Neurodiversity refers to the idea that these variations are part of the natural diversity of human brains rather than pathological deficits. Some common examples of cognitive and neurological differences include:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Dyslexia
• Tourette syndrome
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Sensory processing disorder (SPD)
• Anxiety disorders
• Depression

What are some effective study strategies for neurodivergent students?

Take Regular Breaks

"If you're not taking breaks and you just push yourself for a week, no breaks, studying from when you wake up until you go to sleep, then after a certain amount of days you're going to burn out, and it's going to take you longer to recover. Whereas if you’re building in breaks as you go, then instead of hitting these dramatic peaks and lows, you get more consistent energy.”

-Erin Lindsey

Create a Routine

"I had a very strict schedule for myself. I'd wake up, I'd watch Brad Mondo on YouTube while I ate, and then I went into studying with a hard stop time. So even in July, even when it was ‘go’ time, I would always have a hard stop at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. because I knew I needed that break.”

-Megan Robinson

Find Resources that Work for You

"Those fill-in-the-blank lecture handouts were the one thing that kept me focused on those lecture videos. And the Themis videos are in such short chunks that you really can say, OK, I'm going to watch, I don't know, 2 or 3 lecture chunks, which will be about an hour roughly. And then I'm going to take a 15-minute break.”

-Rebecca Petrilli

Handwrite Notes

"The act of writing ... Once I started doing that, the memorization of the law came to me so much faster. And then when I realized that was working for me, I started actually hand-copying sections of the Themis final review outlines into that notebook."

-Rebecca Petrilli

Simulate the Exam

"The goal of the simulated exam is multi-faceted. What does it feel like to test for that long? What does it feel like to keep your brain engaged? For 12 hours or maybe even a little bit longer if you're in a state-specific jurisdiction. And what does it feel like to do all of that in such a condensed time frame?"

-Heather Varanini

Make Small Adjustments

"Once a week, during your bar study process, ask yourself: What did I do this week? How did I study? Where was I successful? What study methods served me really well? And what didn’t? Where did I feel really distracted? What made me lose focus? Make small shifts.”

-Rebecca Petrilli

Prioritize Self-Care

"You still want to keep having a bit of balance in terms of making sure you're getting movement in your day. So you don't want to stop exercising, stop sleeping, stop eating. You still need to do all the things that help you stay sane and stay calm so that you're not super stressed and anxious when it comes around to the actual exam."

-Heather Varanini

Find Balance

"Outsource your help. Order groceries for pickup instead of going to the store. Send kids to spend time with their family. Wherever you can, remove additional responsibilities in your life. And, have honest conversations with your partner, with your mom and dad, with your roommates."

-Heather Varanini

Build a Support System

"I found a friend to study with every day. One friend, not a big group. We would go there every single day, to a little table in the back of a coffee shop."

-Rebecca Petrilli