First-Year Professors: What to Expect

The initial exposure of first-year law students to professors can be intimidating. As with all other aspects of law school, and the first year in particular, knowing what to expect ahead of time should decrease your anxiety and improve your performance.

The Socratic Method


It is widely, though erroneously, believed that all law school professors are intimidating Professor Kingsfield-types who employ the Socratic method of teaching. The so-called Socratic method refers to a method of teaching by which the professor elicits the information he desires to impart to the class primarily by questioning, not lecturing. In addition to imparting information, the goal of the Socratic method is to teach students how to think critically about issues.

The name of the method is derived from the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates' habit of persistently questioning his fellow Athenians to demonstrate the actual extent and limits of their knowledge. While in years past most law school professors employed the Socratic method of teaching by questioning, that method has been much criticized (especially by students). In our experience, modern law professors use the Socratic method to a lesser degree.

Still, there are many die-hard Socratic professors remaining. These professors' stern demeanors and constant interrogations can be quite intimidating to first-year law students who have never before experienced this teaching method. It is bad enough to have to wade through dozens of pages of incomprehensible legalese before coming to class utterly confused; it is far worse to then have your confusion compounded by merciless interrogation by a professor who has read the assigned cases hundreds of times and who will not accept "pass" for an answer. Throw in the additional fear of being exposed as an inarticulate intellectual weakling in front of your peers-a room full of stellar academics you already misperceive as being brighter than you-and you begin to get the picture of how truly intimidating the Socratic method can be.

The ways to combat your fear of the Socratic method are simple. The first rule is to always come fully prepared to the Socratic professor's class. This means you need to thoroughly read the assigned cases and adequately brief them. Be prepared to recite the facts of the cases in a short, pithy manner (ideally, verbatim from your brief) if called upon to do so.

Further, be prepared to state and defend your reading of a case's holding and rationale against an onslaught of questions that are designed to try to move you from your initial position.

Do not be afraid to disagree with your professor in a firm but polite manner, as long as you have well-supported, logical reasons for doing so. Even if your position is wrong (which it may well not be if the professor is simply playing devil's advocate), your professor will respect you if you have presented an articulate and reasoned defense of it. Furthermore, there are no right or wrong answers to many questions the Socratic professor asks, only arguments for different results; therefore, do not hesitate to defend a position even if you are not completely convinced it is correct. After all, as a practicing lawyer, you will be called upon to argue both strong and weak legal positions, and this is as good a time as any to begin training.

Additionally, it helps to look at the exercise from the professor's viewpoint. Teaching students to think like lawyers is at least as important as imparting knowledge of the substantive legal rules. Cases in the casebooks show how the legal rules are applied to specific facts, and these examples are the building blocks for class discussion. The professor wants students to be able to ascertain what facts are important to the result, and how the result might change if certain facts are changed. The final exam will test your ability to apply the legal rules to a factual situation you have never seen before. Of course, that is what lawyers do every day. Thinking like a lawyer also encompasses thinking about why the law is the way it is and how or why it might change. The professor's questions are designed to engage you in this way of thinking, not to elicit memorized responses.

While it may be difficult to remain calm when called upon by a Socratic professor, make every effort to do so. Realize that all other students in your class are in the same boat as you and are equally subject to being called on and perhaps embarrassed. You should find that they realize this too, and are hence respectful of their classmates' efforts in the hope that they will receive similar support and sympathy when their turns come. Do not be intimidated. Reaffirm to yourself that you are just as capable and bright as any of your classmates. Consider the professor's questions a challenge, and do not be afraid to rise to meet it (sometimes literally, in the case of those professors who require their students to stand when called upon).

Finally, if you are caught in the unenviable position of being un-prepared for the Socratic professor's questions, having not done the assigned reading, your professor will probably appreciate it if you would just tell him the truth. You should also briefly explain the extenuating circumstances that prevented your preparation, and allow him to shift the questioning to other, prepared students. If this occurs, you will have made the most of the situation by virtue of your honesty, and you will have not wasted the professor's and your classmates' time by trying to bluff your way through an oral examination you are destined to fail. Be aware, however, that the professor will return to question you during the next class, not only to determine whether you have done the assigned reading (or have a habit of not doing so), but also to fairly distribute the workload of his Socratic questioning.

In short, Socratic professors are not to be feared, but are to be respected and considered merely another of law school's many challenges.