What to Do If You’re Completely Prepared for Your Law School Class

This is, for obvious reasons, the best scenario. You've done the reading, the professor is going to ask you questions about the reading, and you're basically going to have a leisurely conversation that just happens to be in front of many other people. You want to stay relaxed, speak slowly, and listen to the questions carefully. Keep in mind that not every question is going to be easy. After all, there's a reason that your professor is the professor and you're a student. Be prepared to stop and think, be willing to admit that you do not know an answer, and be open to the idea that there's more to the problem than you first thought.

You should also remember that while you'll leave the professor at the end of the class, you're going to be spending three years with the students you see around you. There are few things that other students like less than arrogant know-it-alls. Answer the professor's questions and make any arguments you like, but keep in mind that you'll win few friends by making lengthy speeches or by quoting extensively from your college thesis. You should be thankful that you carefully prepared that day without feeling the need to prove how much you know about the law. Your professor will be pleased with your preparation, and your classmates will be pleased with your personality.


What to do if you're partially prepared.

This can be among the more harrowing in-class experiences, because you do not want to go down in the professor's book as having skipped all the work, but you also do not want to get in too deep before having to concede that you are not prepared. Most students' experiences probably fall somewhere in this category. Although you did the reading, you certainly would have done it more closely if you had known you would be cold-called. Welcome to the daily dilemma caused by the Socratic Method.

The key way to handle partial preparation is simple: Make sure you are aware of what you know and what you don't. Answer any questions that you can from the material you studied, but be willing to admit your lack of preparation when the professor enters an area that you have not reached. Students say things such as, "I'm sorry, I did not get to that case," or, "I'm sorry, I only read as far as X." Resist the temptation to justify yourself with tales of being snowed in at the airport or personal problems with a spouse or significant other. You can deploy such excuses on the off chance that you get called to the professor's office to explain yourself.

Partial preparation is not the same as no preparation, however, and don't concede defeat before the first question is asked-after all, people are rarely as prepared as they would like to be. You may be surprised to realize how much of the reading you understand, and it is possible that you are dealing with particularly hard material that the professor does not expect you to have mastered. Thus, while you should be honest if the professor begins asking questions about reading you never reached, if you've made an effort at the assignment, do not be embarrassed to speak up.

One final note: Listen to the professor's questions very carefully. Even if you have not done all the reading, you may be able to answer general questions, particularly if they do not focus on the specific facts or holdings of cases you have not read.

It was in Criminal Law, my first year. It was an awful moment for me. I stuttered, had no idea how to answer the question, asked the professor to repeat it, forgot what page we were on, missed the important point, forgot the facts of the case, and so on-basically your worst nightmare. I promised myself it would never happen again, and it never did.

Here's why. I learned an important survival skill for law school: the preemptive strike. The preemptive strike isn't really a thing; it's a mindset, a way of life. It comes in all shapes and sizes, too. But all preemptive strikes share the same goal: to say something smart (or seemingly so) on your own terms, so when it comes time to answer the hard questions, you can cower in the corner and not get called on.

All preemptive strikes also share at least two common characteristics, which you must learn if you are to perfect the maneuver. First, preemptive strikes must be disguised as innocent insights or questions. If the professor sees through you (they usually do), your effort is wasted-or worse, you could be seen as a troublemaker. Thus, the preemptive strike must be good-usually an educated question, or a theoretical comment-but it can't be too good, lest you take the chance of having the professor so taken with you that you are "on call" throughout class.

Second, for your preemptive strike to be effective, you have to be remembered. Nah, the professor doesn't have to learn your name-that could be dangerous, because she could end up thinking you are smart and call on you all the time. You don't even have to be checked off on the professors (often nonexistent) list All you have to do is give her the vague feeling that you've spoken recently (if you're really good, this feeling will stay with your prof for months), and baby, you are off Ike hook!

-JOSEPH K LEAHY, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW