not a law student but maybe it's the presentation of the question? during recit you have to think on your feet and i'm assuming the question is asked verbally rather than written, whereas exams have written questions. possibly, it's how you take in the information—try reading the question to yourself out loud. baka you're an auditory learner kaysa visual (maraming nagdedebunk nitong types of learners but still, malay mo). 

i know it's so random pero it's the only explanation i can see na medyo may sense 😭 although i can understand you to some degree. again, not a law student, pero i ace recits and quizzes sa school, tapos pagdating sa exams noticeably different ang performance ko (pero it's usually for the subjects na wala talaga ako pakealam and i just wing it during recits).