Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses death by suicide, racism, racial slurs, graphic violence, alcohol addiction, and stereotypes. 

Sycamore Row’s protagonist is Jake Brigance, a lawyer who gains fame in Clanton, Mississippi defending Carl Lee Hailey, as depicted in Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill. Grisham has acknowledged autobiographical elements in Jake’s characterization, especially the manner in which he practices law. Jake’s choices and values often represent an authorial projection; a vision of how Grisham thinks—or at least hopes—he would behave in similar circumstances. Though Jake has dreamed since law school of being a great trial lawyer, his true motivation in this story is integrity as demonstrated by his repeated emphasis on his responsibility to represent Seth’s wishes. In the book’s thematic discussion of Unethical Practices in Trial Law, Grisham portrays Jake as the rare honest lawyer in a profession dominated by dishonesty.

Grisham characterizes Jake as an early riser with a strict daily routine, both ambitious and hard-working—a family man devoted to his wife and daughter. In his letter to Jake, Seth explains why he chose Jake to represent his will, writing, “I chose you because you have the reputation of being honest and I admired your courage during the trial of Carl Lee Hailey.