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

One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School is Scott Turow’s debut memoir, first published in 1977. The book is autobiographical and follows Scott’s first full year at Harvard Law School, where he experiences an intense learning curve and tumultuous emotions as he toils to keep pace with his classmates. The book gained attention for expressing the pitfalls of the Socratic method and is credited for popularizing the term “1L” for first year law students across the country. Since its publication, One L continues to be a standard read for students entering law school, and it is a perennial bestseller. 

This guide refers to the Penguin Books 2017 paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism and gender discrimination.

Summary

One L opens with a journal entry from midway through Scott Turow’s first term at Harvard Law School. He expresses feelings of anxiety and incompetence, which he frequently describes throughout the text. In the Preface, Scott explains his purpose of expressing the first-year experience and critiquing the law school institution he holds in such high regard. The main narrative of the text opens with Scott, previously a creative writing lecturer at Stanford, attending first-year orientation at Harvard and meeting his exceptional classmates. He went to his first class, the non-graded Legal Methods course, where he learned about a term-long mock-case assignment he’d be working on with a partner. Scott mingled with his classmates, who were all admitted through a rigid grade-based selection process. Scott struggled with the Legal Methods reading assignment, but his professor, Chris Henley, and student advisor, Peter Geocaris, offered guidance.

On the first day of lectures, Scott worried about the Socratic method and being called on first in class, but his first professor, Bertram Mann, used the Criminal Law period to make introductory remarks. Scott and his new friend Terry Nazzario bought hornbooks—analytical casebooks—for their more difficult Contracts class. Rudolph Perini, the Contracts professor, lived up to his frightening reputation by giving strict instructions for class preparation and by immediately grilling a student, Wally Karlin, on the day’s reading. The students congratulated Wally for keeping his composure, though Scott saw how they gleefully joined in on his mockery with Perini.

Scott struggled with the steep learning curve, especially with understanding the intricacies of legal language. Despite his hardships, the complex legal questions and issues excited Scott. He joined a study group with Terry, Aubrey Drake, Kyle Schick, Sandy Stern, and Stephen Litowitz to discuss class material. Scott’s next day of class introduces his other first-term professors: William Zechman in Torts, and Nicky Morris in Civil Procedure. Zechman’s reliance on hypotheticals confused and frustrated students, but Morris’s patience and progressiveness eased tension and provided clarity for all courses.

Scott learned about the Harvard Law Review (the Review), a prestigious legal periodical published by students, on which only the highest achieving first-years can work. First-year grades were also important when interviewing at law firms, which many of the 2Ls and 3Ls were doing while the 1Ls focused on their coursework. Students often felt pressured to put their Harvard credentials to use in big corporate firms, even if the practice contradicted their personal values. Scott heard from other students that they worried about being indoctrinated to forget their beliefs in the pursuit of the law’s strict rationality and logic-based arguments. When Scott took a vacation over Columbus Day weekend, he reflected on the frenzy of the first month of school.

The shine of the first term began to dull, and students withdrew from participating in class. Some, like those in the Harvard Law Guild, even started pushing back against the combative Socratic method. Tensions grew among students as well, and Scott’s study group ruthlessly kicked out a member. Students became more observant of one another as they tried to gauge their progress in class, and some “stars” started to emerge. Scott’s study group had lunch with some professors to create a personal connection within the large classes.

Scott and his partner, Willie Hewitt, worked casually on their Legal Methods project. Scott’s wife Annette joined him at school to watch the oral argument, but she also witnessed an unusually harsh Contracts class wherein Perini screamed at a student and stormed out. The Incident, as it came to be called, unsettled the students, and they wrote a letter of protest for their mistreatment in class. Word circulated about the Incident beyond the school, which infuriated Perini. At the Legal Methods mock court, Scott and Willie were deeply unprepared for their argument, and they lost to the opposing pair. Scott felt ashamed and embarrassed. Deepening his feelings of despair, Scott did poorly on a mock exam.

Scott’s classmates immediately compared their fake grades and gossiped about who would make the Review. As the pressure of studying for exams ramped up, Scott’s study group worked on a Criminal Law course outline, but the project created tension. Students thanked professors as class let out for Christmas, and the real cramming started. Scott tried to moderate his study time, but he soon spiraled into all-day revisions. The exams were “issue spotters,” so on top of understanding complex concepts, students also had to memorize many rules. The night before the first exam, Scott stayed up until three o’clock in the morning. After riding a high of adrenaline through both exams, he celebrated but felt disappointed by how much of the course material wasn’t relevant to the tests.

Scott joined two new classes in the next term: Public Policy with Guy Sternlieb and Property Law with Isaac Fowler. Scott and Terry partnered up for the moot court competition, an oral argument much like Legal Methods. The pair began their research and met with their advisor, Margo Sakarian, whom Terry immediately butted heads with. Terry decided to follow an unconventional concept for his argument, but he refused to do the supporting research. Margo picked apart Terry’s argument, and Terry yelled at Margo until she cried. Scott and Terry ultimately won their oral argument, primarily on the strength of Scott’s presentation.

At the end of the first term, Perini had called on Scott, so Scott knew he wouldn’t be called on again. This allowed him to see Perini without fear, and he began to view the man as a pretentious showman. Scott received an A- and B+ on his exams—not enough to make the Review. Many students were unhappy with their grades and grew to see the letter grading system as unfair. Stephen, having received very high grades, called the study group back together for a new outline project.

Scott briefly breaks from his narrative to discuss the experience of women and students of color at the law school. He was impressed by the diversity of his section and by the good relations among students. He notes that women and people of color still face discrimination in the job market, and women also face sexism.

Scott fell back into his old habits when exam season arrived, and he registered for his second-year courses. The study group’s outline became a topic of gossip, as many students felt that it gave the group an unfair advantage. Scott became protective over the outline, and a nasty side of himself came out. He tried to fight against these vicious feelings to maintain his decency.

At the close of the narrative, Scott has mixed feelings about his exam performance, but he’s glad it’s over. He celebrates with his classmates, and he looks back on his whole first year. Scott is grateful he could experience some of Harvard’s recent progresses, but he knows more change is possible. He hopes law school can introduce a more humanistic approach to the law and prepare students for more realities of the job. Scott compares grades with friends over the summer break, and they all express how their first-year experience changed them.

In the Aftermath, Scott discusses his surprise at One L’s continued success and impact. Scott describes his career as an attorney and writer after graduation, as well as the positive changes made at Harvard and law schools across the country. He hopes more progress can be made to alleviate the pressures of law school’s first year.