As a journal of Turow's first year in law school, One L follows a straightforward chronology that allows him to document his changing moods and perceptions. Yet Turow does more than provide a personal narrative, he also presents liberal doses of the material he was learning in his classes. His explanations of some of the moral dilemmas and technical points of law are similar to those he makes in Presumed Innocent and The Burden of Proof.

This book also reveals Turow's penchant for telling his story through the eyes of one character who, despite his personal and professional difficulties, remains the reader's only source of information in the story.