Interesting article in this week’s Harvard Law Record:  Q&A with Professor Warren’s TA:

Record editors were intrigued when we stumbled upon this job announcement in mid-December:

Professor Elizabeth Warren needs a student to attend each Bankruptcy class in the spring semester to help her keep track of which students she has called on. Surely no student wants to be left out, so it will be the Teaching Assistant’s role to be sure that Professor Warren spends quality class time with each person. The TA can enjoy the class, knowing he/she will not be called on.

We have tracked down the person with the power over who gets called on in Bankruptcy. He graciously allowed us to trouble him with what proved to be a quite informative question and answer session ….

Q: What are your main duties?

A: When Professor Warren teaches bankruptcy, she engages in rapid-fire questioning of students in the class. Anybody is liable to be put on the spot at any point. To reward students for participating in such grilling, she extends the possibility of extra credit to anyone who misses no more than three classes during the semester. To earn such extra credit, students must be present and participating. That’s where I come in. My responsibilities are twofold. First, I’m responsible for keeping attendance, which is performed by circulating a sign-in sheet during each class. Second, I’m responsible for keeping track of who Professor Warren questions during each class, then flagging the seating chart to denote who didn’t get a chance to speak that day. During the next class, they are all but assured of being called upon. Professor Warren’s goal is to speak with everyone at least once a week and ideally twice, so if someone has gone two classes in a row without saying a word, I will make sure she doesn’t stay hidden for a third.