Jeremy Franklin is in the 8th grade when a friend is charged with stealing a necklace from a locked school locker. Jerry solves the crime and gets the necklace returned by discovering how the locker was entered and identifying the thief in a school assembly. He is praised by a teacher who calls him a 'budding' lawyer. As a result he is immediately asked to represent another student facing expulsion from school. Jerry argues his case in a hearing before the school board and wins.
Jerry, advised by a friendly lawyer known by his parents, continues his career with cases involving a parent trying to force a girl to have an abortion, a fellow student's family living in a slum, a student cheated out of his inheritance by his father. and other serious issues facing teenagers. Gradually, he realizes that the real magic is not with spells and witchcraft, but with the law, where the right words and the right papers can work amazing results.