Product Description
Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader's performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for 'right answers,' and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations.But the authors don't stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage.In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 57 reviews)

Need to up your B.S. skills? Read on. by Pool Boy (Florida)

4 Stars
August 26, 2009
Listen, and listen good. This book helped me more than any other source of information digested prior to law school. I read it in the summer prior to 1L and thought it was a waste of time. Then, by chance, I sat on the john the night before my Property I exam and hit the highlights again and thank God I did. Our property final was your typical convoluted, semi-retarted, multi-paragraphed question in which the student is asked to consider all relevant facts and rule accordingly. Too bad nothing we covered the entire semester was even vaguely present within the hypo. Let me tell you the honest truth - fellow students left that exam after 3 hours having written less than a page of material because nobody - me included - knew what in the hell the prof was looking for. I earned (?) the coveted A though. Chances are there will come at least one final in which NOTHING that you discussed or read about the entire semester even makes a slight appearance. This book will help you B.S. your way through just such an episode. Oh yeah, and if it is not too late - DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL at all. Become a plumber or hand model. You'll be happier for it.

beyond exams by D.K. (Chicago, IL)

5 Stars
April 05, 2009
This book is about thinking like a lawyer. No other book breaks down the "taxonomy" of legal problems like this book. It should be required reading for all entering 1Ls.

Great book by 1L

5 Stars
February 06, 2009
As a struggling 1L who didn't do so well her first semester, I would highly recommend this book. Professors/study groups do not teach you HOW to ace exams, they merely teach you the law.

worth your time by Laura Reimann (Boston, MA)

4 Stars
January 31, 2009
This book is a classic for a reason: it provides practical advice that can actually help you improve your scores on law school exams. I don't know of a better book out there on this topic (though there are many similar books on the market). I suggest reading this before you even start your first term in law school because the concepts discussed in the book--such as issue spotting--are useful (even necessary) to know before going to class you 1L year. I'd recommend this book to anybody attending (or about to be attending) law school.

Not particularly useful by Oliver Dunne

3 Stars
December 15, 2008
This book breaks down issues you'll find on exams categorically. Then you can study each category and learn to spot similar issues on exams (the idea is that you can develop strategies to handle each issue). This is all great. The unfortunate thing is that these categories overlap and are... somewhat arbitrary. I follow the "forks in the facts" vs "forks in the law" distinction, factual issues vs legal issues. But then the categorization gets taken to excess with divisions and subdivisions of categories. "Twin forks". Etc. I suppose my biggest concern is that anyone who did well enough on the LSAT likely can see the legal issues themselves. People think differently. Restricting yourself to this formalization that the authors constructed might actually detract you from seeing the obvious. It will certainly take up valuable study time to memorize these categories and how to spot them, with very limited utility. On the up side, there are sample problems at the end of the book, and some sample questions throughout. Although some of them seem to require specific legal knowledge, which isn't particularly useful to you if you're a first year student just starting out.

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