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

By Scott Turow

One L, Scott Turow's journal of his first year at law school was a bestseller when it was first published in 1977, and has gone on to become a virtual bible for prospective law students. Not only does it introduce with remarkable clarity the ideas and issues that are the stuff of legal education; it brings alive the anxiety and competitiveness – with others and, even more, with oneself – that set the tone in this crucible of character building. Turow's multidimensional delving into his protagonists' psyches and his marvellous gift for suspense prefigure the achievements of his bestselling first novel, Presumed Innocent.

Each September, a new crop of students enter Harvard Law School to begin an intense, often gruelling, sometimes harrowing year of introduction to the law. Turow's group of One Ls are fresh, bright, ambitious, and more than a little daunting. Even more impressive are the faculty: Perini, the dazzling, combative professor of contracts, who presents himself as the students' antagonist in their struggle to master his subject; Zechman, the reserved professor of torts who seems so indecisive the students fear he cannot teach; and Nicky Morris, a young, appealing man who stressed the humanistic aspects of law.

Will the One Ls survive? Will they excel? Will they make the Law Review, the outward and visible sign of success in this ultra-conservative microcosm? With remarkable insight into both his fellows and himself, Turow leads us through the ups and downs, the small triumphs and tragedies of the year, in an absorbing and thought-provoking narrative that teaches the reader not only about law school and the law but about the human beings who make them what they are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: May 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781447244936

Scott Turow

Scott Turow is the world-famous author of several bestselling novels about the law, from Presumed Innocent to Reversible Errors , as well as the wartime thriller Ordinary Heroes. He has also written an examination of the death penalty, Ultimate Punishment. He lives with his family outside Chicago, where he is a partner in the international law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Reviews for One L

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this memoir - but I guess a great writer like Scott Turow can turn even dry material like "my life at law school" into a true story with plot twists and tension.

I listened to the audio and really enjoyed this book

[junebedell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my introduction to Scott Turow. Loved it!

[juliannekim · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

everybody at least has heard about the gruesome life of 1Ls. and now you can read all about it.

[rachelv_33 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As someone who's never been to law school, I thought this book was just ok. Pretty interesting in an, "oh, that what it's like to go to law school" kind of way, but not that engaging. I feel like people who are interested in law or who have been to law school would love it.

[cee2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Turow recounts his first year in Harvard Law School showing the roller coaster effect on his academic achievement and personal relationships. The intensity of the course of study's first year takes its toll but also leads to a real sense of accomplishment as he and his fellow One-L's learn to think like lawyers.

[jonesjohnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Advice if you are considering law school:1. Don't do it.2. Read this book.Number one and number two are completely unrelated.

[glade1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this one over the weekend. It was interesting and a fast read. Despite the fact that this book is over 30 years old, it feels very contemporary. It's interesting to see how individuals in a closed society like the law school become so focused on their small world; it's easy to sit outside and say they are blowing things out of proportion, but I imagine most of us have been in similar situations, where our performance, and that of a few others in a particular subject or skill, is all that matters to us. Turow keeps a fine balance of showing the school and his experience realistically, "warts and all," without being bitter or failing to see the good side of things. I couldn't resist doing a web search to see where his life led after Harvard. I knew he was a novelist but wasn't sure if or how much he practiced law. It turns out he has practiced most of his life and continues to do so, although it appears he took some time off to become a bestselling novelist too. So apparently he survived years two and three at Harvard and benefited from the prestigious degree. He did not write further about his experience there but has written one other nonfiction book containing his experience with and thoughts on the death penalty. I might have to check that one out.Turow is a compelling writer. I remember enjoying Presumed Innocent when I read it many years ago. I'd recommend One L to anyone interested in the law, Harvard, or just a new perspective on education.

[blueandgreen-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At one time I wanted to attend law school, this book didn't deter me from attending... just found other plans. I loved, loved, loved this memoir of Scott Turow's time at Harvard Law. It is thoroughly interesting and entertaining to see him grow throughout that time.

[pferdina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was interested in this book because I'm not ever going to law school and the first-person perspective is the closest-thing I'll have. I am interested in different methods of instruction, so this brief look at the Socratic method (in 1977 from the student's perspective) was enlightening. The rest of the book was sort of heavy going, as Turow complains about everything that happened. He's honest about his bad behavior, though.

[skinglist · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book, one of several I've read about law school recently. While I have no interest in attending law school, I find reading about others' experience fascinating. While some things about law school seem to have changed in 30 years, others don't seem to have changed much based on more recent accounts that I've read. Like a Stanford MBA book I read, it 's also interesting to see how top tier is vs. other schools, though I've also read another Ivy law school in [Ivy League Briefs]. A good read, whether or not you're considering law school, it doesn't really show its age in terms of relevance.

[dono421846 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you attended law school, this book will revive memories you probably suppressed in order to preserve your sanity; if you didn't go to law school, this book shows you exactly what you missed. In the details it is definitely a period piece -- the author complains about paying the exorbitant price of $15 for a casebook (it not uncommon to pay almost $200 today), and bemoans the extravagant $3k/year he pays in Harvard tuition. I won't even try to find out what the current rates are. The Socratic method so much at the center of his account is presently employed rarely, perhaps because professors no longer understand how it actually works. The fruits of the technique can be seen in the satisfying discoveries the students find in Torts; the underside, of course, arises in the "Incident" in Contracts. Despite the painfulness of the process, I couldn't help but envy the complete immersion and challenge the students experienced in something they willingly chose -- no one is forced to study law, much less at Harvard. If the process had been more like an undergraduate course, I believe it would have been equally unsatisfying, if for different reasons. Yes, it is hazing, but as a whole the year by design breaks down the layman and rebuilds in its place a lawyer.

[terribooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this because it's the "Duke Reads" book this month. Otherwise, it really didn't interest me. I found the author and his fellow students to be self-absorbed and not very interesting. I understand that his purpose in writing the book was to expose and question the style of teaching lawyers - and he's probably right that it doesn't make a lot of sense. The description of the favored Socratic method was enough to convince me that I'd never want to be there, and the idea that the entire grade for a year-long class rests on a single final exam is just nuts. But he didn't convince me to care, either. I guess because I'm not a lawyer. The glimpse into a different kind of education was worth the read, but that's about all.

[alanwpowers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Must disagree with the jacket/ GoodReads blurb, "entirely true." NOT according to one of his undergrad professors, Theodore Baird, who wondered how Turow could present himself as such a blank slate upon arriving at Harvard Law, when he had endured the undergrad assault of Baird's Amherst College. But of course, it makes a better story about only the Law School if the naive youth arrives so unprepared for the Big Leagues.But he'd been in the Big Leagues for four years prior: the League that produced Robert Fagles, Richard Wilbur, James Merrill, William Pritchard, the League started by Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson.Perhaps the Bildungsroman like this requires mental rags to riches. It does read well, as if "entirely true." But isn't that the role of Fiction? I always told my classes that if a film claimed to be based on a True Story, it was far from it, because if it really was such, it would claim the Opposite: "None of the characters are based on real people…" in order to avoid lawsuits.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Literature professor and published author, Scott Turow, decides that he liked the research for his book so much that he will attend law school. He chooses the venerated Harvard Law School and chronicles his first year as a law student there where they are called 1Ls. Parts of the book were interesting and parts dragged. It seems law school, like most professional schools, tries to weed out students during the first year. This book makes me wish I'd kept a journal of my first year of dental school and published a book about