Reviews

In a blend of biography, memoir and a certain amount of amateur legal analysis, Adam Mars-Jones discusses his sometimes difficult relationship with his father, the High Court judge Sir William Mars-Jones, whom he cared for in his declining years and now recalls both as a private man with his family and as a public figure… Continue reading

Jeremy Hutchinson, who later became Lord Hutchinson of Lullington QC, was a leading criminal defence advocate, involved in many of the most important cases of the 1960s and 70s, particularly those involving espionage, official secrecy and various forms of censorship. Paul Magrath reviews a celebration of Hutchinson’s most interesting cases, written up by fellow barrister… Continue reading

Confessions of a Barrister, by Russell Winnock (The Friday Project/Harper Collins, £8.99) Reviewed by Paul Magrath This is a warts-n-all depiction of life at the criminal bar, written by a junior of about fifteen years’ call, and seems to me both honest and authentic. It may lack the charm and romanticised rhetoric of Rumpole of… Continue reading

Reviewed by Sarah Phillimore Delivering Family Justice in the 21st Century (Edited by Mavis Maclean, John Eekelaar & Benoit Bastard, Hart Publishing, 2015) This is a wide ranging work – there are nineteen Chapters over four separate parts. The first two parts examine law and delivering family justice, examining the role of Judges and the courts in such… Continue reading

Guest post by Catherine Baksi Can an Oscar-winning playwright and a former Eastenders actor succeed where placard-waving lawyers have failed, in drawing to the public’s attention the devastating impact of the legal aid cuts? Far from the glamorous, high-octane legal world portrayed on the small screen in dramas like Silk and Judge Deed, Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s play… Continue reading

Book review by Paul Magrath It is the mid-1960s and Ben Shroeder is a young barrister struggling to establish his career in the snobbish and prejudiced world of the English Bar. This is the third novel in a series which began with A Higher Duty, in which he served pupillage in the set of chambers… Continue reading

What a Fix-Up!: The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was published (as a Kindle download) on 5 May, just two days before the 2015 General Election. Its author, Garl Gardner, is a barrister who worked for 12 years as a lawyer in government service and currently writes the Head of Legal blog. He also teaches law and… Continue reading

Books reviewed by Paul Magrath Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid (Profile Books, £18.99) The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury, £8.99)     Val McDermid is a crime writer with a reputation for gritty psychological thrillers and her approach in Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime is that of an outsider… Continue reading

Reviewed by Paul Magrath This charming little handbook is now in its third printing, after proving a popular stocking-filler at Wildy’s bookshop. Its author, a retired judge, is also a keen watercolourist and draughtsman, a family trait that apparently can be traced back tot he 18th Century. It is well known, however, that the law… Continue reading

Reviewed by Paul Magrath Faith in the justice system to deliver a fair verdict is in short supply on the grim council estate where the rape, drug dealing and some pretty grievous bodily harm take place in Kathy Lette’s latest novel, Courting Trouble. Her writing style, a giddy cocktail of high-heeled chick lit and wisecracking… Continue reading