Paul’s Getting to Maybe Definitely Hits the Mark
07.06.23 —Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams has been the best-selling book on law exams since its original publication in 1999. Now, Professor Jeremy Paul and co-author Professor Richard Michael Fischl of the University of Connecticut School of Law have released the second edition of their essential guide to how law exams test legal reasoning and why legal reasoning cannot be reduced to any simple “check the boxes” template.
“We could not be prouder of our updated volume,” said Paul, who served as dean of Northeastern Law from 2012 to 2018 and continues to teach Property and Constitutional Law. “But the basic point remains the same: being a law student and ultimately a lawyer has little to do with straightforward application of rules and everything to do with exercising judgment in ambiguous situations in which the intuition, ‘I’m not sure,’ is not a mark of failure but the beginning of wisdom.”
Law students give the book high marks because it avoids abstruse lectures and instead offers a clear, readable and often humorous approach to how lawyers and judges deploy legal reasoning in real-world disputes and how law professors test such disputes on law exams. Responding to reader feedback, the authors offer a much-anticipated second edition with new material focusing on exam preparation; drafting successful exam answers that avoid common mistakes; and tackling multiple-choice questions.
“This is the best book I have ever seen on how law students should approach exams. It is stunningly insightful and will be useful for every type of law school exam. But the book is much more than just test taking tips; it really is a wonderful guide for students on how to approach their courses in law school. Every law student will benefit from reading this book,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
About Northeastern University School of Law
The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.
For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.