Arguments are the primary tools of our trade and we cannot use them effectively unless we understand and obey the rules of logic. Despite their import, most students do not have an opportunity to study the principles of logic in law school. I find this tragic and believe that logic should be a required course for all law students.
In the meantime, lawyers and law students must take it upon themselves to learn the principles of logic necessary to craft persuasive arguments. In this post, I offer a basic primer on three tools of logic that are particularly important in the practice of law: deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning by generalization, and inductive reasoning by analogy.
Keep Reading ⇒
I recently explained why lawyers should teach. This post offers a road map for lawyers interested in teaching a law school course as an adjunct professor.
Although tenure-track law professorships are scarce and fiercely competitive, it is comparatively easy to become an adjunct professor of law. Design a course that you are qualified to teach and that fills a curricular gap, then determine how to most appropriately and persuasively pitch your course to the faculty making the hiring decision.
Keep Reading ⇒
As lawyers, we teach all the time. Legal practice requires that we learn, analyze, teach and persuade. We teach juries, judges, clients, adverse parties, and colleagues. A good lawyer is a good teacher. If you enjoy the teaching part of practice, pursue teaching opportunities, whether as an adjunct professor of law or a regular on the CLE circuit, and you will become a better lawyer.
Keep Reading ⇒
Increase your chances of success on law school exams by learning to ”channel your professor.” At the most basic level, this simply means that you should write for your audience, i.e., your professor. Consider what your professor wants.
First, your professor wants you to demonstrate your knowledge and fluency of course concepts . Second, your professor wants exams to be well-organized and easy to read. Most students leave it at that. But you will be well-served by learning to craft answers using the language and methodology of your professor.
Think of it this way: most professors would give themselves an “A.” If you can figure out how the professor would approach an exam problem and mimic that approach, you increase you chances of earning an “A” yourself.
Keep Reading ⇒
Professors craft complex and nuanced fact patterns for their exams. They spend a great deal of time drafting exam problems without clear answers, problems that allow students to differentiate themselves based on their grasp of the material. Do not insult them by including words or phrases like the following in your answers: ”clearly,” “obviously,” “the only sensible conclusion,” “without a doubt.”
Keep Reading ⇒
In my view, take-home exams are the toughest test format to tackle. In spite or because of that fact, they have emerged in recent years as the darling of law professors. To prepare this post, I consulted other recent law school graduates, including a top 2008 graduate of Georgetown Law, a school with decidedly take-home happy professors.
Together, we offer the following tips for tackling take-homes: (1) be strategic about exam prep, (2) create take-home exam tools, (3) plan the start, (4) budget your time, (5) plan the finish, (6) eat, sleep and exercise, (7) edit, edit, edit and (8) stick to your plan.
Keep Reading ⇒
Yesterday, I offered exam prep strategies for closed book law school exams. Here, I consider exam prep strategies for open book exams and conclude that there should be little difference in how you prepare for and take closed versus open book exams.
Avoid the trap of false confidence which too often comes from having a textbook, outline and class notes on hand during the exam. Instead, use the open book format strategically and be truly prepared to succeed on open book exams. To do this: (1) prepare as you would for a closed book exam, but (2) adopt an open book strategy and (3) integrate it into your exam prep and then (4) apply it during the exam.
Keep Reading ⇒
For those of you with closed book law school exams coming up, here are a few exam prep strategies that you might find useful: (1) assess course expectations, (2) organize, memorize and master the course material, (3) practice, practice, practice, (4) rest your brain, and (5) take the exam with confidence.
Keep Reading ⇒
Teaching a law school course is a ton of work, but, 
![Nominate the Best Law Firm Websites (2013 Edition) [UPDATED]](http://lawyerist.com/lawyerist/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-popular-posts/timthumb.php?src=http://lawyerist.com/lawyerist/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/best-law-firm-websites-nominations-2013.jpg&h=90&w=90)
