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• The lord chancellors.-- Lawyers in arms.-- Riding and dining.-- Lawyers at home.-- Loves of the lawyers.-- Fees and bribes.-- Gowns and wigs.

Michael Mansfield, QC, is Britain's most high-profile defence lawyer, whose unparalleled commitment to his clients and radical approach to forensics, evidence and disclosure have made him a scourge of the establishment and a champion of the individual in many miscarriages of justice cases. Passionate about unveiling corruption and unafraid to challenge received wisdom, he has taken on many of the most controversial cases of our times, including the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Angela Cannings, Jill Dando and Barry George, Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana, Stephen Lawrence, Arthur Scargill and the miners and, most recently, the tragic death of Jean Charles de Menezes. Dissecting these cases with incisive intelligence, subtlety and humour, and interspersing revealing personal reminiscences he offers a fascinating insight into the idiosyncrasies of the English legal system and how it has changed from the late 1960s to the present.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Widely recognised as one of the most brilliant and commercially minded judges of his generation, Peter Millett was involved in many leading cases of the day, including those arising out of the insolvency of the International Tin Council, the collapse of the Maxwell empire, and the Pinochet case, as well as cases of child custody and adoption, forgery, provocation, wrongful pregnancy, and even the Chinese system of concubinage. As in Memory Long is a frank and revealing account of the author's life and career, punctuated throughout with his personal insights into the law and its workings through the years. As well as learning the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion, the reader will also discover how to produce the perfect forgery or provide a company with substantial capital when you have no money, how best to present a fallacious argument, and how to use an umbrella in court. Among the book's many anecdotes are a description of an occasion when the House of Lords managed to give judgment in the wrong case, and many examples of judicial wit at the expense of counsel and vice versa, as well as some often unintentionally hilarious cross-examinations and unexpected answers by witnesses. The memoirs of Peter Millett are not the usual dull series of legal cases won or lost but an entertaining account of personal and professional mishaps over a lengthy and distinguished legal career which will appeal to anyone with an interest in the law and its personalities.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Introduction: My opening speech
• Welcome to the criminal courtroom
• The wild West : the magistrates' court
• Watching the guilty walk free : prosecuting on the cheap
• The devil's greatest trick : putting the victim first
• Defenceless and indefensible
• Legal aid myths and the innocence tax
• Trial on trial : part I : the case again
• Trial on trial : part II : the case against defence
• The big sentencing con
• The courage of our convictions : appeal
• My closing speech.

"Welcome to the world of the Secret Barrister. These are the stories of life inside the courtroom. They are sometimes funny, often moving and ultimately life-changing. How can you defend a child-abuser you suspect to be guilty? What do you say to someone sentenced to ten years who you believe to be innocent? What is the law and why do we need it? And why do they wear those stupid wigs? From the criminals to the lawyers, the victims, witnesses and officers of the law, here is the best and worst of humanity, all struggling within a broken system which would never be off the front pages if the public knew what it was really like. Both a searing first-hand account of the human cost of the criminal justice system, and a guide to how we got into this mess, The Secret Barrister wants to show you what it's really like and why it really matters."-- Provided by publisher.