One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School

Scott Turow is the author and narrator of One L. Before attending Harvard, Turow taught creative writing at Stanford University and struggled to get his work published. Turow went through a mild identity crisis and took the LSAT on a whim because of a growing interest in law. After graduating Harvard Law School, Turow worked as a federal prosecutor for eight years, working primarily on corruption cases, and he helped usher in death penalty reform in Illinois. Turow has a background in civil rights and anti-Vietnam War activism, and he promised himself that he would confront injustices in his professional career. Turow worried that law school would sway him toward corporate law, but he stuck to his values when choosing his career path. Turow continued to write while practicing law, setting many of his stories in the legal world, like the Presumed Innocent series. Turow also writes nonfiction, also primarily about the law.

In One L, Turow describes how he started the school year with enthusiasm as well as intense fear. The student character of himself, Scott, was enthusiastic about the material and enjoyed considering the complex questions it asked, stating, “Sitting in class, struggling with cases, talking to classmates, I had the perpetual and elated sense that I was moving toward the solution of riddles which had tempted me for years” (43).