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
The Secret Barrister’s home truths for those considering a career at the Bar
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 Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Developing a tech start-up demands a different definition of excellence to the Bar, says Saara Idelbi. The co-creator of Advocatr on entrepreneurship, AI advocacy training, and matching the thrill of a killer cross-examination
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
