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This is a question for anyone currently in law school, what are some things you have done successfully to foster relationships with your professors? Whether it is research, seminars or just office hours, what has helped you to get in a position where you could have strong recommendations for a transfer, clerkship or other position?

As someone who didn't bother with much of this in undergrad, I'm curious as to what has been successful for others in getting recommendations from their law professors.

Thanks!

1. Walk in prof's office 2. Drop pants 3. Guage response 4. React accordingly. This has a 100% success rate of breaking the ice and making yourself memorable to the prof.

Get good grades. If you get to know them, but your grades are bad, they'll assume they misread you. If you don't get to know them, and get good grades, they'll assume you are sharp and will be extra receptive to your attempts to get to know them.

Office hours, participate in class (but don't gun*), and get a good grade!

*About that gunning - don't make retarded comments. Try to make intelligent ones. Ratchet it according to how many comments are made during class. Definitely do not be the most frequent commenter.

I am not sure if my own "get good grades" comment is terribly accurate. Lots of professors have commented that their own tests are fairly inaccurate and even express puzzlement as to why students don't do well on them. I can't imagine a prof remembering the grade distribution for 100 or even 200 people. I bet many of them do not check.

I think it depends on the professor. Sometimes you'll just get one you click with naturally. I have a professor this semester who is friendly, approachable, and quite frankly a wonderful teacher. She makes me even more fascinated by the subject than I would have been, and to my great surprise, she took an interest in me, and invited me to come talk to her during office hours. She didn't assume I was stupid because of my background, and I don't even have to gun or talk a ton in her class.

One piece of advice: sit near the front. At least it makes you recognizable, if not memorable.

thanks for the input, everyone

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Renzo wrote:Get good grades. If you get to know them, but your grades are bad, they'll assume they misread you. If you don't get to know them, and get good grades, they'll assume you are sharp and will be extra receptive to your attempts to get to know them.

This seems overrated to me. If you're looking for a recommendation or an RAship then yes, doing well is probably pretty important. If you just want guidance and advice I don't think it matters. Several professors specifically said that in class that how we did on the final would not influence their impressions of us and that the final represents a single piece of work done on a single day and is far from an absolute determination of how well you understood the material. They may have just been blowing smoke, but I don't think so.

Cleareyes wrote:

Renzo wrote:Get good grades. If you get to know them, but your grades are bad, they'll assume they misread you. If you don't get to know them, and get good grades, they'll assume you are sharp and will be extra receptive to your attempts to get to know them.

This seems overrated to me. If you're looking for a recommendation or an RAship then yes, doing well is probably pretty important. If you just want guidance and advice I don't think it matters. Several professors specifically said that in class that how we did on the final would not influence their impressions of us and that the final represents a single piece of work done on a single day and is far from an absolute determination of how well you understood the material. They may have just been blowing smoke, but I don't think so.

Spoken like a true academic . I was thinking more about extracting something from them, like clerkship recommendations or guidance on a publication.

Cole S. Law wrote:1. Walk in prof's office 2. Drop pants 3. Guage response 4. React accordingly. This has a 100% success rate of breaking the ice and making yourself memorable to the prof.

First there was IRAC.

Now there is WDGR.

Don't forget the gauge the facts to the response. Don't forget it!!!

apper123 wrote:

Cole S. Law wrote:1. Walk in prof's office 2. Drop pants 3. Guage response 4. React accordingly. This has a 100% success rate of breaking the ice and making yourself memorable to the prof.

First there was IRAC.

Now there is WDGR.

Don't forget the gauge the facts to the response. Don't forget it!!!

Like the A in IRAC, the G is the most important part!