One L by Scott Turow
**Overview of "One L" by Scott Turow**
"One L" is a nonfiction account by Scott Turow, chronicling his experiences during the first year at Harvard Law School from 1975 to 1976. The book is based on a diary Turow kept throughout this challenging period, providing an intimate look at the pressures and emotional struggles faced by law students. It examines the intense workload, the notorious Socratic teaching method, and the fierce competition among peers, capturing a range of reactions from both Turow and his fellow classmates. Through his narrative, Turow highlights the impactful role of professors, particularly focusing on the character of Professor Perini, who embodies some of the harsher realities of legal education. The text resonates with readers due to its relatable insights into the law school experience, making it essential reading for prospective law students. Ultimately, Turow's journey is one of resilience and self-discovery, as he navigates the trials of legal education while maintaining his ethical integrity. The enduring appeal of "One L" lies in its blend of personal narrative and broader commentary on the legal profession, making it a significant reflection on the challenges of aspiring lawyers.
One L by Scott Turow
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1977
Type of work: Memoir
The Work
One L has, for good reason, become required reading for those thinking of entering law school. Having scored in the stratosphere on the Law School Admissions Test, Turow had his choice of law schools, and he chose to enter one of the country’s oldest and largest, and arguably the most prestigious, of legal education programs, Harvard Law School. What happened to Turow during his first year there, 1975-1976, is the subject of One L, a nonfiction account Turow reconstructed from the diary he kept during eight overwhelming months. While Turow’s object is to explore emotions and events that he personally experienced, his meditations on the system of legal education make it clear that these experiences are by no means unique, either to him or to Harvard Law School. The continuing popularity of One L attests to the universality of its insights.
As more than one reviewer has pointed out, part of the appeal of One L is that it reads like a good thriller, as Turow steers the reader through the sustained hysteria leading up to exams and the ensuing race to make Law Review. He relates his own reactions as well as those of his fellow students to the burdensome workload, to the indignities of the fabled Socratic teaching method, and to the ceaseless competition among classmates.
Along the way, he introduces some memorable personalities. Turow made only minor efforts to change names and otherwise to disguise the real-life characters who peopled his first year at law school. The most dominant of these, not unnaturally, are the professors, on whom the students’ grades—and, hence, self-definition and professional futures—depend. Turow’s opinion of this small group of individuals evolves; as it does, it is hard for the reader not to speculate as to which professor will emerge as the villain of the piece. Turow does not disappoint: By the end of the book, he has given enough detail about the classroom performance of Professor Perini, who teaches the devilishly hard contracts course, that the reader fully endorses Turow’s final judgment that Perini is too much the embodiment of the inhumane aspects of legal training.
In the end, Turow emerges a survivor, a kind of Everyman in the rarefied atmosphere of Harvard Law School. He does not make Law Review, but his marks are certainly respectable. Most important, he makes it through the trial of the first, formative year in the life of a lawyer with his ethics intact. He has met the enemy, the rapacity and fear inside himself, and he has prevailed.
Bibliography
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. “Law’s Labors Lost,” The New Republic, March 14, 1994, 31-38.
Lundy, Derek. Scott Turow: Meeting the Enemy: A Biography. Toronto: ECW Press, 1995.
Macdonald, Andrew. “Personal Injuries.” In Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Vol. 13, edited by Kirk H. Beetz. Osprey, Fla.: Beacham’s, 1996.
Macdonald, Andrew, and Gina Macdonald. Scott Turow: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005.
Macdonald, Andrew, and Gina Macdonald. “Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent: Novel and Film—Multifaceted Character Study Versus Tailored Courtroom Drama.” In It’s a Print: Detective Fiction from Page to Screen, edited by William Reynolds and Beth Trembley. Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press, 1994.
Szuberla, Guy. “Paretsky, Turow, and the Importance of Symbolic Ethnicity,” Mid-America: The Yearbook of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, 1991, 124-135.