Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Theodore Boone is incredibly knowledgeable about the law for someone who is still a kid, as the novel’s title implies. Throughout the novel, Theo helps other students (and even a staff member) from his school with their various legal troubles, often remarking after helping that each person is just “[a]nother satisfied client” (263). He enjoys these encounters, as they affirm his commitment to becoming a lawyer when he gets older. This enjoyment is facilitated by his familiar surroundings in his parents’ law office at Boone & Boone every day after school, where he works on homework and his own legal advice from his small storage closet of an office.

Theo’s voice also explains the variety of legal aspects that are key to understanding the novel’s plot. At the beginning, he is the one to explain to his class what is happening with the murder trial. He also explains legal terms that are crucial to the plot as he navigates through his dilemma. For example, Theo thinks about the importance of getting a guilty verdict in the first trial with Duffy: “If the jury found Mr. Duffy not guilty, he would literally get away with murder. And he could never again be brought to trial for the same crime.