I found this book very helpful in understanding features of law school that are important there but not necessarily taught there. It also is done in an interesting way, so that it's not just a completely practical guide to exams. It *is* practical, but it's got some intellectual content, too. Worthwhile for the law student.

I had Fischl for Contracts at UM a few years ago and highly recommend it if you find yourself in a similar position. The examples are pretty close to the type of questions he and other law school professors ask on exams. Think of this book as a Princeton Review type lesson on how to master the test not the material. It does a good job breaking down the different types of issue spotters etc and is helpful for those with no exam experience. I recommend it to my 1L friends (the ones I couldn't talk out of going to law school. 4 stars only because even knowing what to expect didn't help my grade in his class!

Reading this book before school started had the benefit of getting me thinking about law and legal analysis. But it had no impact on my grades (I'm at or near the top of my class in all subjects and top overall). More importantly, it SHOULDN'T have any impact on one's grades. Attending the lectures, reading the cases, preparing your own outline, participating in class and seeking help from the professor when necesssary; THESE are the vital steps for success in law school.

I gave up using commercial aids for one crucial reason: they distracted me from getting inside the head of the professor and really grasping the nature of the topic. People who try to take artificial shortcuts like using a commercial aid will never excel. If their intellect cannot naturally expedite the studying process, how could a quick summary give someone that special, incisive grasp of a topic? In such a case one would be better off doing all the assigned tasks properly and methodically. Disagree with me at your peril!

To be fair, after reading this book, I was able to provide some clever answers in class during my first month at school. After that, I was so involved and interested in the assigned materials, I long surpassed what this book could offer.

What a great book. I'm just sorry that I didn't discover it until my 2L year. I feel so much more prepared for exams this year, thanks to the great advice and information in this book. I plan to give my copy to the student services library when I leave law school, because I think every single 1L should read it!

It seems incomprehensible, not long ago, that this book did not exist! The information accumulated and distributed in this book is priceless. Many law-thought exercises, a challenging read for the mind but not tiring or boring when taken in chunks.

If you're going to law school or are in it right now, and haven't read this, you certainly will regret it!

It seems incomprhensible, not long ago, that this book did not exist! The information acculated and distributed in this book are priceless. Many thought exercises, a challenging read for the mind but not tiring or boring.

If you're going to law school or in it right now, and haven't read this, you will regret it!

This was a good book, but I kept trying to figure out exactly when it should be read.

I'm starting law school in the fall, so I'm trying to do what prep I can over the summer. Much of this book was understandable for someone who hasn't actually started law school, but there were some concepts that are based on information that you learn in your 1L year. Since this book has tips for preparing for exams ahead of time, it wouldn't make sense to read during the semester (and who would have time, anyway?). In a revision, I would suggest that the authors tune the content slightly to be absorbed more easily by someone who has not started law school yet.

I am a law professor at the oldest night law school in San Francisco who has struggled for years to communicate to my stdents how to prepare for exams. I wish someone had told me about this book years ago. It explains cogently and distinctly why law school exams are different than those exams you did so well on in college (or you wouldn't be in law school) and why you need to start thinking differently. The book goes through the different types of questions one mught find on an exam and shows how to address them. It also provides numerous tips on how to study and how to approach exam writing. The book also does a great job of explaining a theme I have pushed for years --- that exam-writing skills are really the writing and thinking skills students will need when they become lawyers. It should be required reading in law schools. And it wouldn't hurt law professors to read the book either.

This is not a book for fast help. It is a great book to use before you anywhere near a time crunch!!!

This is not a book for fast help. It is a great book to use before you anywhere near a time crunch!!!

This is full of common sense info. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't buy this book.

This is full of common sense info. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't buy this book.

I started my first year at law school with the impression--the conviction!--that someone was going to take time out of his/her lecture schedule to teach us how to write law school exams. This, of course, never happened and, after bungling through a practice midterm with a slipshod IRAC, I decided to seek some advice. My law school's academic preparation (resuscitation?) program recommended this book, and I picked it up from Amazon several weeks prior to finals.

I've generally considered test-taking "manuals" to be overly simplistic and far too general to be effective. But this book is different. It doesn't prescribe worthless "strategies" for stock scenarios (like those dreadful LSAT books), but instead attempts to get you to rethink your approach to the exam--from preparation to execution. What impressed me the most about _Getting to Maybe_ is that it makes a point not to provide pat answers, or to patch up poor preparation. Rather, it suggests new ways to think about the law, and about the scenarios that appear on law school exams.

One caveat is that, to get anything out of this book, you need to pick it up well before finals: this book tries to get you to approach law school differently, and this is something that can't be done a day before the exam. This book is worth your time--not only is the prose far more lively and entertaining than, say, that of International Shoe, but you really come away from _Getting to Maybe_ feeling like the effort was worthwhile.

I started my first year at law school with the impression--the conviction!--that someone was going to take time out of his/her lecture schedule to teach us how to write law school exams. This, of course, never happened and, after bungling through a practice midterm with a slipshod IRAC, I decided to seek some advice. My law school's academic preparation (resuscitation?) program recommended this book, and I picked it up from Amazon several weeks prior to finals.

I've generally considered test-taking "manuals" to be overly simplistic and far too general to be effective. But this book is different. It doesn't prescribe worthless "strategies" for stock scenarios (like those dreadful LSAT books), but instead attempts to get you to rethink your approach to the exam--from preparation to execution. What impressed me the most about _Getting to Maybe_ is that it makes a point not to provide pat answers, or to patch up poor preparation. Rather, it suggests new ways to think about the law, and about the scenarios that appear on law school exams.

One caveat is that, to get anything out of this book, you need to pick it up well before finals: this book tries to get you to approach law school differently, and this is something that can't be done a day before the exam. This book is worth your time--not only is the prose far more lively and entertaining than, say, that of International Shoe, but you really come away from _Getting to Maybe_ feeling like the effort was worthwhile.

As a 2L, I can testify to you that this book teaches you _nothing_ that can be learned in the first few hours of any reputable law school's orientation day: when you take an exam, identify the issues that need to be resolved to resolve, then take note of and highlight ambiguities in the law and the facts. Construct as many arguments as you can for either side, no matter how bad or tenuous, and the policy considerations behind each of them. Great, now pay me $25.00.

One piece of advice in GTM that you should absolutely NOT follow is the book's model answers in the back; while they sound intelligent and incisive, they are dangerously unstructured and discursive; you're liable to pull a C+ at best if you have an essay that departs this far from standard format. I should therefore add one other crucial component that this book leaves out: carefully outline your answer (so that you can come up with and dispose of collateral issues before you're halfway through it realizing that you completely missed something that destroys your entire analysis). Then, write your answer in simple, direct sentences (with countervailing rules and analysis, when applicable) according to the TREAT format you learn in legal writing. The result is that you get a stream of check marks down the side of your exam printout that, when totaled up, depending on your raw intelligence and typing speed as compared to your fellow classmates, put you well ahead of the grading curve compared to the mouth-breathers who were too dense or lazy to do what they were told from day-frigging-one.

I've never written a review on Amazon before, but I think this book warrants one. While everyone's approach to studying for law school is different, this book is the only one I've read (out of more than I'd care to admit) that's really helped me to organize my studying in a systematic way. It provides a rubric for understanding exam questions -- and, in truth, law school in general -- from the perspective of the teacher: in other words, it forces you to think about what they're trying to teach you, how, and why.

Obviously, I can't speak for anyone else, but I can say confidently that it'll be worth your time to check this book out.

I've never written a review on Amazon before, but I think this book warrants one. While everyone's approach to studying for law school is different, this book is the only one I've read (out of more than I'd care to admit) that's really helped me to organize my studying in a systematic way. It provides a rubric for understanding exam questions -- and, in truth, law school in general -- from the perspective of the teacher: in other words, it forces you to think about what they're trying to teach you, how, and why.

Obviously, I can't speak for anyone else, but I can say confidently that it'll be worth your time to check this book out.

I read this book right after trying to apply IRAC to my first midterm and doing horribly. After reading the first 50 pages I knew exactly what I did wrong and how I could have handled the question differently. I recommend also doing LEEWS as both methods are similar in that they teach you how to answer legal questions from both sides and arrive at a thoughtful response

I bought this book prior to beginning law school on the advice of the summer reading list. Although I haven't gotten through even my first semester, already what I have read has really made things in class seem clearer and I feel much more confident for the exam. I wholly recommend it.

A must read for the "late in life" law student! It helps to know where to focus, and this books gives you the tools to do just that.

Absolutely the best pre-law book i've read so far....and i've read many. As far as prep before and during school, this book is that one to buy.

I bought this book after my third year of law school, after being put on academic probation. Basically, I had to get my grades up in a term and a half (summer term plus a full load in the fall), or I wouldn't graduate. I wish I hadn't let things get that bad before I read this book! After reading the book and applying its theory, I was able to raise my GPA from 1.7 to 2.6. This book made a huge difference in the way I thought about classes, the way I took notes in class, the way I outlined... and I felt way more confident going into my exams. And my grades improved. That's all there is to it.

I read this book in preparation for starting law school in the fall of 2006. I found this more helpful than any of the law school prep books that I have read (law school confidential, law school insider) for understanding what the learning process of law is like. It will be interesting to see how what the book says compares with my experience next year, but I feel much more confident that I can approach the material in a more appropriate manner than I might have without this book.

The practical advice on how to read exam questions and write exam responses and frame answers also looks like it will be very helpful.

In my first year of law school, my legal writing tutor recommended this book. After reading it, my grades went up, which I believe was partially because of how this book helped me improve writing law school exams. It helps new law students understand what it means to "think like a lawyer." That is, it gives students a framework for analyzing complex issues.

Reading this book also significantly increased my performance in our legal writing class. At the end of my first year, my professor said my writing went from nearly the worst in the class to the best. This progress was a direct result from reading this book, improving my writing organization, and practice.

I highly recommend this book for new law students who want a head-start improving their legal analysis skills, and especially for students struggling with their legal writing. Law students have so much to read, it's hard to find more time for a book like this. But even reading a few chapters will provide students with a new paradigm for their legal analysis and writing.

This book would make a great gift for a student prior to starting law school because it is easy to read and introduces readers to subjects they will cover in their first-year courses.

Don't let the small size fool you. This little powerhouse is full of essential advice for parsing your professor's exams. I read it before beginning my first year, and found the advice gave me a leg up, both in confidence and in analysis. I've read literally dozens of "law school prep" books, and this is the cream of the crop.

I read this book early in the fall of my 1L year. At the time, I thought that the book was useful and that reading it would give me an edge over my classmates. In retrospect, the book did not give me any edge and reading the book was a waste of time.

The book does give you confidence. It leads you to think that you will be able to take apart a legal exam, reduce it to its essentials, and reason in a manner that your professors will appreciate. I guess it might be worth your reading if you need a shot of self-confidence.

But I do not think that the book will make much of a difference in how anyone does on law school exams. The authors' main point is to look for ambiguities (or "forks"). When you see something on your exam that looks ambiguous, try to explore all the ambiguities. In other words, argue in the alternative--i.e., point out that if X is said to occur, then Y results, whereas if A is said to occur, then B results. Let your professors know that you can see the little things that might produce completely different legal results.

This method is great as a theory. However, it is difficult to apply the method in an actual test setting. I remember that my first exam during my 1L year was in criminal law. I was given a long fact pattern, and I tried to apply the "Getting to Maybe" method. One problem I found was that I was pushed for time. It was not possible to discuss all the ambiguities in the amount of time allowed. The method the book suggested was just not possible in the context of my three-hour bluebook exam. There was no way I could explore all the ambiguities on the exam the way the authors suggest.

Another problem I have with the book is that it is not really giving you any special advice. Reduced to a sentence, the authors are just telling you not to be conclusory with your answers--in other words, show that certain items in the fact pattern could be argued multiple ways. This is hardly novel law school exam advice worth $22.00!

I have read reviews by people who claim that this book helped them make law review or whatever. I also know many people who have read this book and have gotten below average law school grades. I do not think that this book will make a difference in how anyone does in law school. If you are one of those people who has to read everything, because you don't want your classmates to have read something you haven't read, then by all means read this. If, on the other hand, you are concerned about using your time effectively, then you are probably better off working on your outlines or reviewing your lecture notes rather than wasting your time reading this book.

This is an entertaining book with good insights on taking law school exams (I particularly liked Fischl & Paul's hilarious debunking of that stupid old IRAC bromide that professors like to give to all those foolish 1Ls). But some Amazon reviewers seem to think that Getting To Maybe is some sort of magic cure-all. It ain't. Unless you have spent a year or two perfecting your writing and analytical skills through continual practice, merely perusing this book will do nothing for you come exam time. If, however, you are already well versed in basic lawyerly analysis, this book will give you an edge.


Here's what you need to do in order to score well on a law exam:

1. Extricate the key facts from a fact-dense problem. (Watch out for red herrings!)

2. Spot and specify all legal issues that arise from these key facts.

3. Intelligently apply all applicable legal rules to the issues.

4. Interweave key facts into elements of the applicable rules.

5. Insert appropriate policy discussions that support the rules. (Take notes and study up on each prof's particular hobby horse and demonstrate extensive familiarity with it on your essay exams.)

6. Integrate ALL of the above skills with succinct, first-draft legal writing skills within the allotted time (usually about 50 minutes per problem). Think fast, write fast--and do both well.

Getting To Maybe is particularly good at developing point number 5. It is somewhat spotty at most of the others. But what it does, it does very well indeed. And, as far as law-related books go, it's a fun and funny read. So, after you have mastered the basics of black-letter law and learned to think clearly and write well, what this book has to teach you will be yet another arrow in your quiver. Just don't think it's your entire arsenal.

Further recommendations: Pre-law and 1L students should read all the books in the Examples & Explanations series and carefully work through ALL the problems. The single most useful book on exam-taking is John Delaney's How To Do Your Best On Law School Exams, which you can purchase directly from Professor Delaney. And for heaven's sake, don't forget to take Wentworth Miller's LEEWS program early in your first semester.

Lastly--and it's sad to have to say this--learn some friggin' logic and some essay-writing skills before you even think of setting foot on campus. It's amazing and pathetic how few 1Ls can write clear, coherent, grammatical prose. Law school ain't the time to be taking Freshman Comp and Logic 101. Remember, the first year is crucial. Don't blow it.

not all its hyped up to be helped a little go get a gilberts or an emanuels if you want to do well don't waste time on this

This is a fantastic book - can't say enough about it. Now, the authors are going to start giving seminars. The first is November 20 at NYLS. They have a website at www.cap-press.com/GTM/home.html.

This book saved my law school carreer. law school tests are notoriously ambigous. There are no right answers. Unfortunatly, there seems to be no help for students. One of the proscribed methods is the IRAC method (when you get to school you will learn this and this is not the time to write about it). This book gives you a different way of acheving success in the test. The book does criticize IRAC and offers its own way of handling the testing questions. "Getting To Maybe" is written by law professors and who would know more about passing their tests as well as how a professor thinks? The book is a well written philosophy on the test and the mistakes. The authors spend a great deal of time explaining their philosophy and it is helpfull for the second half of the book. The book shows the common test question mistakes and how to fix them. The book also provides sample tests with sample answers and explanations of why they are good answers. This is the best part of the book, a side by side comparison of good and bad answers which makes this book invaluable. Highly reccommended.

This book is in no small measure the reason that I am still in law school. I bombed the first year exams. After reading this book, and practicing the skills in it, my next set of exams were great. Just like the book says, Law school Profs do not teach what they test. The book lifts the "veil" of secrecy so that a student can do well on exams. The law schools should TEACH this book to every first year student.
Thanks

Who better to get advice on law exams from than two law professors, who also graduated at the top of Harvard Law's class? My grades have gone up and up since reading (and re-reading) this book. Anyone who goes to law school, especially where competition for grades is tight will benefit. The more you read it, the more you grasp the strategy. So don't get discouraged if you're a bit confused the first time. I'd recommend reading through this before you enter law school and at least once (maybe twice) a semester as you can squeeze in a few extra minutes. I've looked at every book about legal reasoning and taking law exams that I've been able to get my hands on and this book has the best system by far. It might not be the easiest system to understand (after all the easy road isn't always the best road in law school), but once you grasp it you'll be thankful.

I gave this book two stars for its discussion on addressing policy issues on the exam--this was helpful, indeed. It also gives good tips and provides answers to frequently asked questions on how to prepare--but this is standard advice you'll hear in any law school. Does this book provide a concrete strategy on handling a law school exam? No. In sum, it describes what is wanted on an exam, but doesn't come close to adequately showing students how to get to this "maybe." You are on your own...

I am a student at a top 5 law school. This book does not outline a specific system for taking exams, so if that is what you are looking for, look else where. What this book does provide is a good overview of the different types of gray areas that appear time and time again on exams. This will help you "spot the issues" and give you a feel for the kind of stuff your profs want to see written about come exam time. There are also plenty of general exam taking tips that area helpful. I have read many exam taking books, and this is the best of them. Read it early in the semester. It will help you focus on the important stuff in class and in the reading.

A very thorough, explicit, step-by-step guide to what law school professors want to see on your written exams. Very lucid, sometimes even witty. Most law schools still adhere to the Socratic, sink-or-swim method, in which students are kept in the dark about what's expected of them. As a result, many students are totally flummoxed and panic-stricken when exam time rolls around. Be sure to read this book just before you head off to law school; then read it again a couple of weeks before your first exam. If you follow the authors' advice, you are practically guaranteed good grades. Hey, you might even make the Law Review. It worked for me.

Other good books to read before heading off to law school:
Law 101, by Jay Feinman
Introduction to U.S. Legal System, by William Burnham
Planet Law School, by "Atticus Falcon"
The first two give a nice overview of the whole subject and will help you tie everything together. The last is an overcynical but very amusing description of the kind of mind games you're likely to encounter; it also contains the best study tips I've seen.

Also: If you have the time and money, enroll in an intensive paralegal training course before law school. I did, and it really saved my ass during 1L.

Last but definitely not least: Spend at least six months prepping HARD for the LSAT. Work your way through a good logic textbook (I recommend Copi's), study a good prep book (e.g., Jeff Kolby's), and practice on as many real LSATs as you can, under time-pressured conditions. It really pays off.

I'm a 1L and our first semester grades came out today. I am thanking Getting To Maybe, along with my hard work, for my GPA. This book will tell you HOW to answer exam questions so you don't waste time and points on the exam writing stuff you don't have to. I highly recommend Getting To Maybe, attending class, carefully reading your assignments, and judicious use of study aids to reinforce not replace your readings, to get those A's you deserve.:) And BRIEF first semester, at least for most of it: it really does help get the structure and legalese of judicial opinions into your head. Good luck everyone!!!! -Amy

Having graduated with high honors from one of the top five law schools, I relied on several of these books to identify the appropriate approach to taking law school exams. I applied the approach as follows: (1) read only those assignments provided by the professor (ignore commercial outlines, etc.); (2) take extensive notes of everything the professor says in class (and do not write down any student comments or student answers to Socratic questions); (3) organize your notes of the professor's lectures into your own outline; (4) read the professor's prior exam files, including any student answers selected by the professor as "model answers"; and (5) practice taking the professor's old exams in the few days leading up to exam day. The rationale is that your professor will be looking for you to spot those issues that he or she views as important. The more of these issues you spot, the higher your exam grade will be. Ditch those commercial outlines and study group meetings. In addition to Getting to Maybe, you should also prepare for law school by conditioning yourself to what its competition will feel like. Two excellent books that accomplish this goal are Scott Turow's One L (Harvard in the 1970s) and Scott Gaille's The Law Review (2002 book about competition at The University of Chicago Law School).

The aim of this book is to help current law students perform well on law school exams. Law school exams are famously ambiguous; hence the title of the book.

The title of the book is a play on the title of a classic book about the art of negotiation, called _Getting to Yes_. Implicit in _Getting to Maybe_ is that, unlike a negotiation, performance on law school exams does not require an exact answer or resolution.

The method by which these law professors explain this concept is especially interesting. In connection with their academic research, they propose to break down law school exams into small components, and thoroughly analyze those components. The result is a very substantial and comprehensive analysis of the structure of law school exams and the skills required to do well on these exams.

You may be asking how the professors purport to explain _all_ law school exams, for surely there are professors for whose exams these methods will not work. These professors make the interesting point that in the United States, law education is fairly uniform, and, therefore, the skills required to perform well on law school exams are fairly uniform, as well.

I read this book prior to starting law school. I found it useful primarily because I have read a number of other books about legal reasoning and the study of law and the law school experience that are more basic than the material in this book. If this is your first book regarding the study of law or peformance in law school, I would advise putting it aside in favor of a book offering a broader overview of law, its study, and law school.

This book reminds me very much of the history of tantric yoga. For hundreds of years, tantric yoga was available only to a very select few. Teachers claimed this was necessary because (1)tantric teachings could only be taught one at a time from a master to a disciple and (2) only some people were worthy (or capable) of training. For years, elite law professors have made the same kinds of assumptions: (1) legal reasoning can only be taught by the mysterious and mystefying question and answer process labelled socratic teaching and (2) only some people can "get" it. It took hundreds of years before practitioners started teaching tantra in the U.S., exposing many to its benefits, and exploding the lie that only some had the potential to benefit. Thank goodness, it's taken only a little over a hundred years for this book to come along and expose how anyone can learn about legal reasoning without the mystery -- and, frankly, narcissistic abuse -- associated with the Socratic method.

Instructor speaks in PLAIN ENGLISH about how to approach and handle law school exams. Very helpful especially during that stressful first year!