One L

The narrator of the novel, a previously successful, young English teacher at Stanford with a deep affinity for law. After deciding to take the LSAT on a whim, his astonishingly high score gives him the opportunity to select among the elite Law Schools. Turow notes that he decided to choose Harvard Law based on their reputation as one of the most elite, despite the fact that many of his colleagues who had attended did not speak very highly of the school. Turow and his wife move to Cambridge, Massachusetts and he begins classes in the fall of 1975. It is at Harvard that he "meets his enemy."

One of the notable professors at Harvard. Morris is known for his tranquil demeanor and unorthodox teaching style. Morris taught first year civil procedure at the university and was well liked among the students. Prior to teaching at Harvard, Morris had graduated at the age of 23 and developed a very impressive resume, including clerking for a Chief Justice. Morris was one of the easier professor who would call students based off the seating chart and offering them the option to pass on a question if they did not know the answer. Morris held a degree of contempt for the school and their teaching methods famously noting that it didn't please him that he was an educator at a place that had been the root cause of anguish and anxiety for many alumni.

A torts professor who recently returned from a long absence and proves to be a bit of a mystery to his students. His class, while engaging, is a long series of elaborate hypotheticals that appear to be designed to confuse students, or at least that is how it felt to Turow. While a kind and patient man, his classes often left his students befuddled trying to decrypt their incoherent notes.

One of Harvard's most notorious professors. One L's are warned immediately of his class and are encouraged to stay away. Whether it was the workload or his overbearing demeanor, students were not a fan of Perini or his class. A proud Texan and graduate from UT Law, he made himself a large presence in any room that he was in. He had no issue with calling people out in class regardless of whether they wanted to participate or not. He encouraged students to remain at least three cases ahead of what the syllabus said, but it was implied that this was not merely a suggestion. He would verbally accost students who could not answer the questions; however, he had an amazing gift of making students think critically. Perini challenged students to explain and justify beliefs and values that were so central to their identities that they were nearly inarticulable. He often relied on the Socratic method of teaching, which a law review had referred to as "public degradation, humiliation, ridicule, and dehumanization." They go on to say that "Professor Perini of One-L has helped foster an image of the archetypal law school professor who challenges, probes and even humiliates students in repeated exchanges of questions and attempted answers."[3]

An old college friend of Turows who he reconnected with once at Harvard Law. He was a second year student who has come to law school after he realized that his dream of working in higher education was not financially stable enough. He was a member of the Board of Student Advisors which guided One-Ls thought their first year. BSA was also in charge of organizing and facilitating the Moot Court competition.

A former OEO lawyer based out of Washington who was working on his graduate law degree while also teaching law. He ran the Legal Methods Program which was essentially a law lab.

A fellow One L Turow meets during his first year. From Elizabeth, New Jersey, he had been less then forthright during his application process. Upon their initial introduction, Terry tells Scott that the only reason he had gotten into the school is because the school had mistakenly believed that he was Puerto Rican. Nazarrio seems to wear this as a badge of honor.

Scott Turow's wife who moves to Cambridge to be with Turow during law school.