I’ve wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I can remember. My parents met at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. My grandfather – now 83 years old – still goes in to work every day as a senior partner at his Texas firm. My great-grandfather helped Hollywood stars get quick divorces in Mexico back in the 40s. I figure with this family history of legal success, law school is a pretty good choice for me.
That doesn’t mean I’m not terrified of it, though. Law school itself is a lot of incredibly hard work, and lawyers – especially those just starting out – often work incredibly long hours. It’s a lot harder than Elle Woods makes it look. Scott Turow’s memoir of his time as a “one-L” (a first-year law student) provides a better idea of what I have to look forward to.
In “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School,” Turow is 25 years old when he starts as a one-L at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1975. He’d already gotten his master’s degree at Stanford University and served as a Jones Lecturer teaching creative writing. Basically, he’s the kind of person who seems to excel at everything he tries. If law school is going to be easy for anyone, it’s going to be him.
But it isn’t. For Turow and the rest of his classmates at HLS – most of whom are used to being the best at whatever they do – law school is the biggest challenge they’ve ever faced. They’re all used to being the best, but at Harvard where A’s are elusive that just isn’t possible. Someone’s got to get the C’s. Being forced into nonstop competition for grades and professors’ praise is hard on Turow and his classmates. Turow starts out as an amiable guy, trying to make friends and to ignore the pressure to constantly compare himself to the other one-Ls. By the end of the year, he’s given in, writing, “I want the advantage … I don’t give a damn about anybody else. I want to do better than them.”
He’s not proud of whom he is becoming at the end of his one-L year. He has many criticisms of his legal education. Competition for grades – and law review membership based on those grades – is fierce. Being on a law review (the scholarly journals of the legal profession) is seen as a stepping-stone to other important legal positions. And the professors use the Socratic method to teach their classes – they ask student after student for an explanation of the course material, sometimes terrorizing those they call on in the process. Turow notes one particular professor who seemed to take a kind of perverse pleasure in interrogating students, mercilessly mocking the ones who don’t answer correctly.
Law schools have changed some since Turow wrote his book 35 years ago. Some have de-emphasized the Socratic method. Others have abandoned letter grades in favor of less heart-wrenching pass/fail systems. Despite these changes, “One L” is still the go-to book for most wanna-be lawyers. My dad read it before he applied to law school in the early 80s and then passed his battered, much-read copy down to me. Reading it reminds me of why I’m working so hard to do well in school – it’s inspirational to know that despite Turow’s criticisms, even he felt law school was worth the trouble. According to Turow’s estimates, the book still sells about 30,000 copies every year – not surprising considering at least 45,000 people apply to law school each year, [according to the LA Times](http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/08/opinion/la-oe-greenbaum8-2010jan08).
Even if you aren’t among those 45,000 applicants, Turow’s book is a great read. It gives you an idea of what law school is, what lawyers actually do and why it is that they get paid such astronomical sums. Going to law school is expensive. Getting through law school can be cutthroat. Turow’s book lets outsiders in on some of the less-than-pleasant aspects of the profession, and allows people to see that being a lawyer isn’t all pay-raises-and-perks – something people seem to forget. After all, nobody likes lawyers until they need one.
