by: Lilly McKenna, University of San Francisco School of Law
Law school presents many anxiety-inducing obstacles for first-year students, but one challenge I felt the least prepared for was overcoming my reluctance to speak up in class. Up until law school most of my courses were conducted in a smaller setting, and I found the larger setting of a sixty-plus student class fairly intimidating and rarely volunteered an answer. Considering most law school professors rely on the Socratic Method and “cold-calling” to conduct class, I was inevitably called upon to discuss reading assignments during my first year. While I find this to be a very instructive and through-provoking teaching method, I sometimes felt distracted by the preoccupation of whether (more like, when) I would be called on. Ultimately, I made it through but I never grew comfortable enough to volunteer answers— even when I knew what the Professor was looking for in a line of questioning, or when I had a good question to ask.
After the first-year many professors moved away from the ritualistic “cold-calling” and relied solely on volunteers. By this point, however, I had grown comfortable holding back and letting so-called ‘gunners’ take the lead even when I felt their responses were not on point. This is something I regret, and I hope that the following will help prepare and prevent other future 1Ls from following the same path. Developing a confident voice in law school is important to for your career down the line, and students should take advantage of the law school setting to begin practicing oral communication skills.
Why does speaking up matter when much of a lawyer’s work is spent behind a desk researching and writing memos?
Contrary to what many prevailing legal television dramas depict, the vast majority of a young lawyer’s time is frequently spent in an office research and writing rather than arguing in court.1 Still, developing oral advocacy and public speaking skills is crucial to growing your career as an attorney, and in the long run it will serve your interests to begin practicing in law school.
Learning to think on your feet and articulate those thoughts clearly is an important part of being a lawyer— even if you don’t plan on being in the courtroom every day. As discussed above, the Socratic Method is a tool utilized by professors to develop students’ critical thinking skills and to unpack the reading, not to terrorize law students. Similarly, many law school students form study groups to review and discuss the material after class and to help prepare for the exam. Talking through the lessons with your peers will help you understand, memorize, and internalize the rules, all while perfecting your communication skills.
Speaking Up
Developing a Confident Voice in Law School