Describe the “my enemy” figure that appears throughout the text. What characteristics does this figure have that Scott fears? How does Scott suppress his feelings of competition throughout the year? What finally makes his “enemy” emerge?

Compare and contrast Scott’s professors. How do their personalities impact their teaching styles? How does each represent different aspects of the Harvard Law School culture and different approaches to the teaching of law? Which teachers does Scott find most and least effective, and why?

Explore how the Harvard “standard of excellence” (65) looms over students both during their studies and after their graduations. How does the expectation of excellence impact students’ identity and self-image? What are Turow’s criticisms of this expectation?

Choose either Terry or Stephen and explore how their first-year experience changes them. How did the law school experience impact both their behavior and their worldviews?

Explore how the stress of the first-year law program affects students both psychologically and physically. How does Scott try to combat the pressures that produce these symptoms?

Scott claims that legal education can improve by offering a more humanistic approach both in its curriculum and its treatment of its students. Discuss Scott’s proposals for change and the improvements he thinks these changes will produce.

Explore the pros and cons of the Socratic method that Scott offers throughout the text and argue for or against keeping the Socratic method in law classrooms.

How does Harvard Law School foster an atmosphere of competition among students? Consider major moments in the text that exemplify the antagonism between students in their fight to keep up or get ahead.