Exam Coaching by Professor John Delaney

What is this coaching?

It's internet-based, individualized exam coaching by Professor John Delaney (retired) who over decades prepared countless first-year law exams and graded thousands at the New York University Law School and at the City University of New York Law School.

What is the objective of this coaching?

The objective is to maximize your ability to get the A grades on the critically important first-year law exams that generally result in law review membership and thus open the widest possible range of opportunities after graduation, including positions at large law firms, clerkships with prominent federal and state judges, and even eventual law school teaching. First year grades are typically crucial in creating these opportunities.

How is this coaching helpful?

As you know, the competition for the limited number of A grades among the mass of very able law students is intense. The challenging law-essay exams are different from college-essay exams where the A grades generally go to the students who can embody their relevant knowledge and understanding in apt expository and analytical writing. But for decoding law essay exams, essential knowledge and understanding are just threshold requirements. Unlike college, the A grades do not go to the students who know the most. Instead, the A grades are awarded to those students who can spot the issues posed by the often dense essay problems of each professor and then write concise lawyerly arguments that resolve each issue, usually with intense time pressure. My coaching time therefore concentrates on aiding you to cultivate and sharpen your issue-spotting skills and your skills in concise writing of such arguments. I will direct you to doctrinal materials in my Exam Book that provide the required course-related knowledge and understanding of legal rules that you need to perform the required issue spotting and argument making.

How would this coaching occur?

In the first recommended approach, you would submit by e-mail some of your issue spotting and arguments in response to exercises that I designate in my How To Do Your Best On Law School Exams. I will respond by e-mail with detailed assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. In the alternative, you may, after studying and practicing the exercises in my Exam Book on your own, be confident about your skills. If so, you would submit your e-mail response to a short diagnostic problem of moderate difficulty to enable me to identify your strengths and weaknesses. In either approach that you choose, you will, step-by-step, complete additional essay exercises of escalating difficulty, and time permitting culminating in a very challenging multi-issue essay problem that is typical of these exams. Of course, a blend of both approaches is possible. I will also respond to any questions you want to raise at any time, including how to focus in on each professor's wavelength (they vary a lot) and how to anticipate many or even most of the issues she'll likely raise on her exam.

What is the best timing for this coaching?

Ideally, in the late spring and summer before school begins. It's also possible to do it early in the fall, well before exams. If your initial fall grades are disappointing, coaching could then aid in identifying and correcting weaknesses. Often, just one or two weaknesses prevent A grades as repeatedly illustrated in my Exam Book.

What materials would be used?

In addition to my How To Do Your Best On Law School Exams, I will also send a copy of my Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory and ask you to study the Exam book carefully and, if you are not yet in law school, to study the forty questions and responses in Chapter One of Learning Legal Reasoning. They concisely explain the basics of our legal system, including the federal and state court systems, the central role of entrenched common-law doctrines such as res judicata and stare decisis, the required skills for legal reasoning, and how what goes on in the classroom may mislead you in preparing for and taking the exams. I will also ask everyone who participates to study other materials, including my FAQ and a detailed Article on how law exams are different from college exams. Since my Books and other materials answer typical beginners' questions, detail recommendations for learning and outlining most effectively and address many other first-year concerns, we should be able instead to devote most of the coaching time to perfecting the two skills that produce the A grades: issue spotting and writing concise arguments with intense time pressure. Of course, this coaching is personalized, so I'll adjust it in response to your needs, answer questions that arise, do special exercises to correct weaknesses, etc.

Are there any guarantees?

No. There are too many variables at stake. But I pledge to do my very best to aid you to get the A grades, and I require a commitment that you will do your best and work hard as I direct. If you do not do so, I reserve the right to end the couching.

What is the cost of this personalized coaching and how do I begin?

Coaching is $360 for a tree hour session and includes my books, Learning Legal Reasoning and How To Do Your Best on Law School Exams. For five hours, it's $550. Additional hours are $120 per hour. The cost is a tiny fraction of escalating tuition and may open opportunities for you as you learn and practice the critical exam skills that are not systematically taught in law school.

If you are interested, e-mail me at John@JohnDelaneyPub.com. I am pleased to offer a free e-mail consultation to answer any questions you may have about this coaching, and, if you decide to proceed, I can then inquire about the exact state of your preparation, if any, to date, to determine where we should begin.