Best-selling author of The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken (Picador: 2018) and Fake Law: the Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies (Picador: 2020) and Independent Blogger of the Year (2017 and 2016 Comment Awards), the Secret Barrister is a junior barrister specialising in criminal law and blogs at thesecretbarrister.com. Nothing But The Truth: Stories of Crime, Guilt and the Loss of Innocence by the Secret Barrister was published by Picador on 12 May 2022.
A warts-and-all look back at SB’s pupillage: an extract from Nothing But The Truth
Newly minted Bar graduates compete at a ratio of 300:1 for a golden ticket to Wonka’s Criminal Justice Factory. The Secret Barrister explains why…
Few cases raise more hackles than foreign nationals breaching our criminal law, only for the government’s attempts at deporting them to be frustrated.
An extract from Fake Law: The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies by the Secret Barrister
Something must be done or the much-vaunted ‘new normal’ will be taking place without us. The Secret Barrister boils down the critical issues into a five-point alternative recovery plan for criminal justice
Broadcasting deals for on-screen sentencing: a decontextualised gift to bad-faith editors? Why we shouldn’t lose sight of the risks to open justice. By The Secret Barrister
Taking stock of your practice, planning for the future and adjusting the way you work is one way to make use of interrupted times. Athena Markides grilled a panel, one famously secret, at the Bar Conference for their advice
Grilling Richard Atkins QC on his fears and aspirations for the year ahead, The Secret Barrister finds a crusader chair with an ambitious and overarching aim
Digitising documents, yes. Digitising clients, no. The Secret Barrister’s resistance to the video-link revolution is both practical and principled
The Secret Barrister wears a black cape, fights crime and shares with Counsel an extract from their much-anticipated book on the criminal justice system: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken
The Bar Council is ready to support a turn to the efficiencies that will make a difference
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
An interview with Rob Wagg, CEO of New Park Court Chambers
What meaningful steps can you take in 2026 to advance your legal career? asks Thomas Cowan of St Pauls Chambers
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, explains why drugs may appear in test results, despite the donor denying use of them
Ever wondered what a pupillage is like at the CPS? This Q and A provides an insight into the training, experience and next steps
The appointments of 96 new King’s Counsel (also known as silk) are announced today
Ready for the new way to do tax returns? David Southern KC continues his series explaining the impact on barristers. In part 2, a worked example shows the specific practicalities of adapting to the new system
Resolution of the criminal justice crisis does not lie in reheating old ideas that have been roundly rejected before, say Ed Vickers KC, Faras Baloch and Katie Bacon
With pupillage application season under way, Laura Wright reflects on her route to ‘tech barrister’ and offers advice for those aiming at a career at the Bar
