Joy in the Morning — Leather Binder Portfolio

Joy in the Morning is a zippered leather portfolio with a document binder at its spine — for the lawyer who wants the exhibits clipped in order before walking into the room, not loose in a folder hoping for the best.

• Full-grain, vegetable-tanned Italian cowhide (Vachetta), hand-dyed by the maker
• Four-ring binder mechanism — punched documents mount in fixed order and turn like pages
• Holds A4 and US letter-size paper
• Zip closure; easy-carry top handle
• Interior sized for a tablet; multiple pen loops and card slots; double-width slip pocket
• Leather-and-textile lined interior
• 10.2 × 1.6 × 13.4 in · 2.0 lb
• Ships in the maker's gift box
• Black · Made in Italy

The binder is the entire argument. A zip portfolio carries documents; a binder portfolio keeps them in an order you chose the night before — deposition exhibits, the closing checklist, the client's signature set — and lets you open the rings and hand one page across the table without disturbing the rest. It is the difference between carrying paper and having organized it.

One specification worth knowing: the rings are four, on European spacing, rather than the usual American three, and pages punched with a standard American three-hole punch will not mount. Four is the better mechanism for what a practice files. Four points of purchase across the same page edge put less load on each hole, and an exhibit set pulled, passed down a table and re-filed a dozen times tears out of four rings far later than out of three. A4 pre-punched sheets mount straight in.

The name is the maker's, and follows their habit of naming pieces after books. Two novels carry this title — P.G. Wodehouse's 1946 Jeeves comedy, and Betty Smith's 1963 story of a young woman married to a first-year law student. Time Resistance doesn't say which they meant. Both borrowed the phrase from the same Psalm, so perhaps it doesn't matter.

The binder is the reason to choose this piece. For a zip portfolio without rings, see The Docket. For the slim, snap-closed case built around a legal pad, see The Brief — or read Padfolio, or Portfolio? when deciding between the formats. For a work bag it travels inside, see Shirley.

Questions we get

Will my punched exhibits mount? Only if they are punched to four holes. The rings are four rather than the usual American three, so a standard US three-hole punch will not line up. A4 pre-punched sheets mount straight in.

Does it take US letter, or only A4? Both. The binder holds A4 and US letter-size paper alike, so an American filing and a European one sit in the same rings.

Does it carry a tablet as well as paper? Yes. The interior is sized for a tablet, with multiple pen loops, card slots and a double-width slip pocket alongside the rings.

Why a binder rather than a zip portfolio? Because a zip portfolio carries documents and a binder keeps them in an order you chose the night before. If the order does not matter, The Docket is lighter and simpler. We argue the formats in Padfolio, or Portfolio?

How heavy is it? Two pounds empty, at 10.2 by 13.4 inches and 1.6 inches thick. It is a case you carry to a room and set down, not one you hold for an afternoon.

Barrister & Bespoke Curated Collection — hand-selected from Time Resistance, for its craftsmanship and fit within our world. Curated pieces carry their maker's own identity rather than ours; our house collection, designed and branded exclusively for Barrister & Bespoke, is marked separately throughout the shop.

Warranty. This Product carries Time Resistance's lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, remedied by repair, and Barrister & Bespoke's own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery. Full terms, including how to make a claim, are stated in our Warranty Policy.