In the hands of another author, Rudy Baylor might have turned into a schlimazel, a character doomed by misfortune. Alternatively, he could have been portrayed as a figure from late 1800s naturalism, where a hapless individual is struck by calamity and unable to alter his fate. However, Rudy transcends these stereotypes. He is resilient, good-humored, intelligent, and still holds onto his ideals. His intelligence is understated: he manages to pass the bar exam when many others fail, and he demonstrates quick thinking during the trial. To make ends meet, he maintains a degree of dignity—he seeks jobs at established firms, works in the cash-only underground economy at a college bar to protect his limited earnings from creditors, and even reluctantly resorts to ambulance chasing with Deck. Ironically, in a society driven by money, Rudy's experiences with the Blacks help him develop a deeper sense of care. He is reflective about his circumstances and candid about the compromises he makes with his ethical standards, which earns the readers' sympathy.

Like many of Grisham's protagonists, Rudy lacks family support—a deceased father who despised lawyers and a distant mother—similar to Mitch McDeere's situation. Grisham often portrays his characters as solitary individuals who must rely solely on themselves.

Grisham fills Rudy's journey for job security with a captivating variety of characters, particularly the lawyers. Judge Kipler openly displays his delightfully sharp attitude towards legal professionals. Rudy's courtroom opponent, Leo F. Drummond, who represents Great Benefit, is both a prominent lawyer in his community and undeniably corrupt, as evidenced by his wiretapping of Rudy's phone. Beneath his facade of respectability lies a character potentially as despicable as his clients. Grisham maintains an air of mystery around J. Lyman "Bruiser" Stone, a fierce litigator leading a firm of ambulance chasers and a criminal wary of police scrutiny. The most thoroughly fleshed-out supporting character is Deck Shifflet. Unable to pass the bar exam, he refers to himself as a "paralawyer" and pursues cases on behalf of Bruiser Stone. A divorced, compulsive gambler with a nervous tic and an overall unhealthy appearance, Deck operates on the seedy edges of the legal world and appears ready to engage in Stone's unlawful ventures. His friendship with Rudy highlights Rudy's tolerance and sociability. The Black case with Rudy could offer Deck a financial windfall and newfound respectability; his otherwise dismal career involves attempting to connect with a legitimate lawyer to share in the riches and fame of a major case. The women in the novel are portrayed as stereotypes: Miss Birdie is the lonely elderly widow, and Kelly is the abused wife unwilling to report her husband to the authorities. Grisham's rationale for their lack of depth (readers should acknowledge that, apart from Reggie Love in The Client, Grisham rarely crafts complex female characters) might be that they serve archetypal roles for Rudy. He acts as a surrogate son to Miss Birdie, assisting her with tasks and residing in her home, and becomes Kelly's protector, leading to a violent showdown at the novel's end. Initially without family, Rudy finds a mother figure in Miss Birdie and later a partner in Kelly, symbolically "maturing" throughout the story.