“At the age of thirteen, Theo was still undecided about his future. One day he dreamed of being a famous trial lawyer, one who handled the biggest cases and never lost before juries. The next day he dreamed of being a great judge, noted for his wisdom and fairness. He went back and forth, changing his mind daily.”

Theo’s desire to become a lawyer is evident from the first pages of the novel, and it’s clear that he’s very knowledgeable about the law. He returns to this debate between becoming a trial attorney or becoming a judge later in the novel after watching Judge Gantry make a difficult decision about how he could fairly allow for a mistrial so that Julio’s cousin could testify against Peter Duffy. However, his decision is still left open, echoing the fact that he is torn between his future career path possibilities.

“It was a bright class in a strong public school. Justin was by far the best athlete, though he couldn’t swim as fast as Brian. Ricardo beat them all at golf and tennis. Edward played the cello, Woody the electric guitar, Darren the drums, Jarvis the trumpet. Joey had the highest IQ and made perfect grades. Chase was the mad scientist who was always a threat to blow up the lab. Aaron spoke Spanish, from his mother’s side, German from his father’s, and English, of course. Brandon had an early morning paper route, traded stocks online, and planned to be the first millionaire in the group.”

Theo’s education and his classmates are an important part of understanding how Theo is a “kid lawyer.” Education is also a motif in the novel, returning periodically as an idea because Theo views of most of his classes as a waste of time when he could instead be watching the Duffy trial. However, his school also provides many of his “clients,” and his legal skills provide his piece to the puzzle of the class.

“Theo was certain that he was the only eighth grader in Strattenburg with his own law office. It was a small boxlike closet that someone had added to the main house decades earlier, and before Theo took it over the firm had used it to store old law books that were out of date. His desk was a card table that was not quite as neat as his mother’s but much more organized than his father’s. His chair was a ragged swivel unit he’d saved from the junk pile when his parents had refurbished the library up front near Elsa’s station.”

Theo’s characterization of an independent, kid lawyer is illustrated in his working “office” in his parents’ own