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With the Law on Our Side
Told through captivating real cases in real courts, the former President of the Supreme Court leads us on a deeply entertaining and vitally important top-to-bottom tour of the law in our land.
Our laws and justice system might touch our lives when we have an accident, a wrong is done to us, or we have a family difficulty. They are vast, ancient and cover everything from the personal to the regulation of our government. But to most of us, they are a web of intimidating institutions and practices.
Lady Hale – an inspirational figure admired for her historic achievements and activism – shows us how the law is on our side. Taking us into the complexities of real courts and real decisions, we see that we all have schoolchildren, disabled people, workers, minorities and patients.
Here are true stories from every part of the justice system, from lowly benefits tribunals and magistrates’ courts to the lofty heights of the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey; stories about the dilemmas of deciding what is right and just, and which invite you to say where justice lies before knowing what the courts decided. We see first-hand how the people whose needs the law is designed to protect actually experience it.
With the Law on Our Side is a citizen’s guidebook to the law in our land, a top-to-bottom tour with a supremely expert guide. In captivating stories, it tells us what the law is about, how it works and most importantly why we should all care about it.
Our laws and justice system might touch our lives when we have an accident, a wrong is done to us, or we have a family difficulty. They are vast, ancient and cover everything from the personal to the regulation of our government. But to most of us, they are a web of intimidating institutions and practices.
Lady Hale – an inspirational figure admired for her historic achievements and activism – shows us how the law is on our side. Taking us into the complexities of real courts and real decisions, we see that we all have schoolchildren, disabled people, workers, minorities and patients.
Here are true stories from every part of the justice system, from lowly benefits tribunals and magistrates’ courts to the lofty heights of the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey; stories about the dilemmas of deciding what is right and just, and which invite you to say where justice lies before knowing what the courts decided. We see first-hand how the people whose needs the law is designed to protect actually experience it.
With the Law on Our Side is a citizen’s guidebook to the law in our land, a top-to-bottom tour with a supremely expert guide. In captivating stories, it tells us what the law is about, how it works and most importantly why we should all care about it.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 19, 2026
Genuinely really interesting and accessible. Considering the technicality of the subject matter it was very easy to get through.
October 4, 2026
I hate to gate keep, but I hope probate lawyers take note of how few mentions their type of law gets in this book about the law working for everyone.
Lady Brenda Hale is the closest thing the legal world has to a rockstar, which should really tell everyone what they already know about that world. Her judgments are universally praised for taking a simple, clear cut approach to law. She is candid about her own opinions which gives her a respectability as well as making it apparent when she is approaching things without bias. And she wore a funny broach one time that was the subject of a whole other book.
In this book, Lady Hale sets out how the courts work, how the law works and how the law is made. It’s all simply put in language that most people can hopefully understand. She uses a variety of real world examples which for anyone in the know felt like watching a Marvel film and being able to pick up all the comic book references. It is pretty good, and I’d recommend it for anyone interested in how legal frameworks govern everyone’s lives. It might also help anyone studying law, though I can’t see it convincing anyone to go and study law. The difference being that this is not a book designed to persuade people, it is built as a guide through the law for those who already have some appreciate that the law is an important thing to know about.
Part 1 works through the courts. I enjoyed seeing whatever stipend Penguin allowed be used to visit Middlesborough, which in fairness is a nice combined court. Lady Hale’s nerdiness shines through and there is a lovely to and fro between how courts operate now compared to how they operated when lady Hale was practicing. It’s all nicely done, but for anyone who has studied law this part is the most testing. Because the audience is more general, Lady Hale basically covers everything people get taught in weeks 1 and 2 of administrative law. The exception for me here was Lady Hale’s detail on the tribunals, which I’ve never understood and feel slightly more knowledgable in now.
Part 2 works through the law. I appreciated the clear battle raging between publisher and author not to have a chapter titled “humans have rights”, and I am so glad the author won. Instead, Lady Hale works through children, LGBTQ+, workers and other groups’ rights. She applies some big case law and asks the reader to consider how they would approach the facts. It is a masterclass in legal writing for the simplicity and neutrality that she presents each issue. It was also nice that she did not sit on the fence, and instead came to tackle a few big issues. None of it is particularly strong and something apparent from her title is that Lady Hale is pro-establishment. Shock horror, that means her views are not radical in the slightest, but it is refreshing for someone pro-establishment to not question the existence or rights of trans people.
Part 3 was my favourite section, where Lady Hale gets through how the law is made. Chapter 16 in particular is excellent, but as Lady Hale admits - it is nerdy. This is a shorter part than the previous two, but it works through case law, government law and parliamentary law. A lot of Lady Hale’s views are bob on, but a funny part of the book is the soft power flex on the House of Lords’ authority as a second chamber. It is not egregious but it comes across in the book as a signpost for people who may want to defend the existence of an unelected legislative body from whatever political ideology you’re from.
All in all, it is a good book and for everyone who received it as a Christmas present, it is worth reading eventually. The only note is that the book is not proscriptive; what you do with the law, and your knowledge of the law, is as important as having that knowledge in the first place.
Lady Brenda Hale is the closest thing the legal world has to a rockstar, which should really tell everyone what they already know about that world. Her judgments are universally praised for taking a simple, clear cut approach to law. She is candid about her own opinions which gives her a respectability as well as making it apparent when she is approaching things without bias. And she wore a funny broach one time that was the subject of a whole other book.
In this book, Lady Hale sets out how the courts work, how the law works and how the law is made. It’s all simply put in language that most people can hopefully understand. She uses a variety of real world examples which for anyone in the know felt like watching a Marvel film and being able to pick up all the comic book references. It is pretty good, and I’d recommend it for anyone interested in how legal frameworks govern everyone’s lives. It might also help anyone studying law, though I can’t see it convincing anyone to go and study law. The difference being that this is not a book designed to persuade people, it is built as a guide through the law for those who already have some appreciate that the law is an important thing to know about.
Part 1 works through the courts. I enjoyed seeing whatever stipend Penguin allowed be used to visit Middlesborough, which in fairness is a nice combined court. Lady Hale’s nerdiness shines through and there is a lovely to and fro between how courts operate now compared to how they operated when lady Hale was practicing. It’s all nicely done, but for anyone who has studied law this part is the most testing. Because the audience is more general, Lady Hale basically covers everything people get taught in weeks 1 and 2 of administrative law. The exception for me here was Lady Hale’s detail on the tribunals, which I’ve never understood and feel slightly more knowledgable in now.
Part 2 works through the law. I appreciated the clear battle raging between publisher and author not to have a chapter titled “humans have rights”, and I am so glad the author won. Instead, Lady Hale works through children, LGBTQ+, workers and other groups’ rights. She applies some big case law and asks the reader to consider how they would approach the facts. It is a masterclass in legal writing for the simplicity and neutrality that she presents each issue. It was also nice that she did not sit on the fence, and instead came to tackle a few big issues. None of it is particularly strong and something apparent from her title is that Lady Hale is pro-establishment. Shock horror, that means her views are not radical in the slightest, but it is refreshing for someone pro-establishment to not question the existence or rights of trans people.
Part 3 was my favourite section, where Lady Hale gets through how the law is made. Chapter 16 in particular is excellent, but as Lady Hale admits - it is nerdy. This is a shorter part than the previous two, but it works through case law, government law and parliamentary law. A lot of Lady Hale’s views are bob on, but a funny part of the book is the soft power flex on the House of Lords’ authority as a second chamber. It is not egregious but it comes across in the book as a signpost for people who may want to defend the existence of an unelected legislative body from whatever political ideology you’re from.
All in all, it is a good book and for everyone who received it as a Christmas present, it is worth reading eventually. The only note is that the book is not proscriptive; what you do with the law, and your knowledge of the law, is as important as having that knowledge in the first place.
August 13, 2026
This is an interesting and easy read for beginners who want to understand the foundational principles and structures which encompass the legal system of the UK. While I think this book was too basic in its writing and insights, I found it to be personally enjoyable and informative. I 100% recommend this as the perfect introductory book if you are starting your legal studies because it covered so many issues which you will likely explore in your degree. I just wish the author would have suggested more potential solutions and tackled issues more directly, instead of just asking questions and stating that we do not currently have the answers to them. Regardless of this, I still recommend the book and think it’s a solid read.
March 25, 2026
This reads like one of those "so you want to study law?" books – an overview of the main areas of law, case law presented as case studies, and the refrain: "what do you think?"
Anyone could have written this book. Most of the appeal lies in the fact that it was written by Lady Hale, yet the book rarely makes much use of the perspective that makes her worth reading in the first place. It's good if you're looking for a decently engaging overview of the UK legal system; she does a good job of clearly outlining the cases, the core legal reasoning, and why it matters. It definitely captures the reality of studying law – reading the facts of a huge range of cases that are always either petty gossip or the worst day of someone's life, and few in between.
I was interested in her account of the Safety of Rwanda Act's parliamentary ping-pong stage and eventual passing (chapter 17). Her position is clear: the Act disapplied parts of the Human Rights Act, violated international obligations, and had worrying implications for the rule of law. She is uniquely positioned for such discussions, having been both President of the Supreme Court and, later, a member of the House of Lords – I really wish she'd leant into this more. I wanted to hear from someone with not only extensive academic knowledge but also first-hand experience from within both the judiciary and the legislature... but instead the bulk of the book's content resembles the lecture slides from your first few weeks of a law degree.
Lee v Ashers Baking Company is an excellent choice of case to include in a book of this sort, and, as an illustration of the conflict between rights and the significance of technicalities – factual, doctrinal and procedural – this section (in chapter 11) does a good job. I was, however, struck by how much she glossed over the fact she herself delivered the lead judgment on the discrimination and Convention rights issues, merely saying "the Supreme Court held" and so on. She summarised the reasoning as though she were an external observer simply recounting events, and did not share her personal thoughts on the case, elaborate on her reasoning, or include any reflection. Even translating more detailed reasoning from the judgment into simpler language would have been nice. My first year public law lecturer said that, if he could ask Lady Hale one question, it would be to elaborate on that judgment. I think he would be disappointed.
I understand that this is not an academic book but a commercial release, and for it to be accessible, it has to assume no prior knowledge, which limits the depth of analysis possible. However, I still think it could have done more, and that good non-fiction should strive to make complex or technical subject matter readily comprehensible without flattening it or failing to draw on what its author is uniquely placed to offer. Surely, with all her years of experience, and with the help of a publisher, Lady Hale could have used this book as a means of sharing her unique wisdom with a general audience. That said, it's not a bad book by any means, and it would be informative to someone who does not know much about law. But this book already exists, many times over. If you're interested in this book chiefly because it's written by Lady Hale, you can probably give it a miss.
Anyone could have written this book. Most of the appeal lies in the fact that it was written by Lady Hale, yet the book rarely makes much use of the perspective that makes her worth reading in the first place. It's good if you're looking for a decently engaging overview of the UK legal system; she does a good job of clearly outlining the cases, the core legal reasoning, and why it matters. It definitely captures the reality of studying law – reading the facts of a huge range of cases that are always either petty gossip or the worst day of someone's life, and few in between.
I was interested in her account of the Safety of Rwanda Act's parliamentary ping-pong stage and eventual passing (chapter 17). Her position is clear: the Act disapplied parts of the Human Rights Act, violated international obligations, and had worrying implications for the rule of law. She is uniquely positioned for such discussions, having been both President of the Supreme Court and, later, a member of the House of Lords – I really wish she'd leant into this more. I wanted to hear from someone with not only extensive academic knowledge but also first-hand experience from within both the judiciary and the legislature... but instead the bulk of the book's content resembles the lecture slides from your first few weeks of a law degree.
Lee v Ashers Baking Company is an excellent choice of case to include in a book of this sort, and, as an illustration of the conflict between rights and the significance of technicalities – factual, doctrinal and procedural – this section (in chapter 11) does a good job. I was, however, struck by how much she glossed over the fact she herself delivered the lead judgment on the discrimination and Convention rights issues, merely saying "the Supreme Court held" and so on. She summarised the reasoning as though she were an external observer simply recounting events, and did not share her personal thoughts on the case, elaborate on her reasoning, or include any reflection. Even translating more detailed reasoning from the judgment into simpler language would have been nice. My first year public law lecturer said that, if he could ask Lady Hale one question, it would be to elaborate on that judgment. I think he would be disappointed.
I understand that this is not an academic book but a commercial release, and for it to be accessible, it has to assume no prior knowledge, which limits the depth of analysis possible. However, I still think it could have done more, and that good non-fiction should strive to make complex or technical subject matter readily comprehensible without flattening it or failing to draw on what its author is uniquely placed to offer. Surely, with all her years of experience, and with the help of a publisher, Lady Hale could have used this book as a means of sharing her unique wisdom with a general audience. That said, it's not a bad book by any means, and it would be informative to someone who does not know much about law. But this book already exists, many times over. If you're interested in this book chiefly because it's written by Lady Hale, you can probably give it a miss.
April 23, 2026
my idol!!!! super interesting smatterings of case law I hadn’t heard of, in depth chapter on the legality of the Rwanda Bill & good ammunition to use against my dad when arguing about politics vs law
February 22, 2026
A comprehensive look at the justice system in place in England and Wales, told through the lens of various courts and cases. The technicalities went over my head in places, but it is about law after all! Ultimately very educational and accessible.
July 27, 2026
An excellent well articulated guide to the legal system. A must for any wannabe lawyer, but also a must for any current lawyer to refresh and reflect upon. Should be on the reading list for any law qualification
August 18, 2026
I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. It was definitely aimed at the layperson rather than lawyers so I assumed a lot of the content would be repetition to me but I actually learned quite a lot. Scots law is different in a lot of ways to English law and so the first part was an interesting exploration of the English court system, something I haven't studied in any detail. The second section surrounding protected characteristics was particularly well structured and I really enjoyed the questions she left the reader to ponder before giving the judgment of the court. It highlights the nature of the law and how unpredictable decisions can be based on the judge you get that day. The final section on law-making was probably my least favourite but I found her description of the Rwanda Immigration legislation particularly interesting. 4.25 🌟
March 21, 2026
This book is split into three sections: Courts are for Everyone, Rights are for Everyone, and Making Law for Everyone.
In the first section, she explains how the justice system works and why courts are so important, even though people often forget about them. The second section focuses on different groups (like children, disabled people, and patients) and shows that everyone has rights, even if they’re not always treated fairly. It also highlights how the law sometimes needs to treat people differently to make things equal. This section looked at different groups of people, women, patients, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and schoolkids. For each she highlights certain cases, asks the audience what they think and then explains how the judges ruled. This was by far my favourite section. In the final section, she looks at how laws are created and why it matters that they work for everyone in society.
Overall some parts were very interesting, especially section 2, while large parts just felt a bit boring. Part of this was due to the style of writing that I personally didn’t really like: it read like the script for a BBC documentary, where the author was walking around and sharing insights with me.
Quotes:
“There are two things which throughout history we have wanted and needed governments to do. The first is the defence of the realm - to keep us safe from any enemies who might want to attack us and take us over. The last time this succeeded was in 1066 when the Normans conquered England. Since then our governments have been pretty successful in keeping our enemies at bay, albeit at great cost and often with the help of our friends.
But what is the second thing that any government must do? It must keep the peace at home. It must have a system of laws which govern how people should behave towards one another. At its most basic, this means that people should not harm one another and should keep the promises they have made to one another. And there must be a justice system to enforce those laws. Where a person has been harmed or a promise has not been kept, there must be a remedy against the person who has done the harm or who has broken the promise. Sometimes the remedy is compensation - repar-ion for what the person wronged has iffered. Sometimes it is punishment - unpleasant consequences for the person who has done the wrong. And sometimes it is both.”
“They are essential to our functioning and to our well-being as a community
and a country. But this can so easily be forgotten - by anyone who is not already part of the system or willy-nilly involved with it, and even by the politicians whose job it is to decide upon policies and priorities. It is shocking that the justice system is not protected in the same way as health and education when public spending priorities are de-cided. it is shocking that this could be because we do not care about the justice system in the way that we care about health and education, because we cannot see what it has to do with us.”
“But we must never forget that a society cannot function without just laws and an effective justice system. It is time to put justice back on the agenda for all of us.”
“Sick and injured people are very vulnerable. They need expert help to make them better, but they dont always know what help they need or how to get it. They are very reliantnon what the healthcare professionals tell them. But what if they are given the wrong information? Or not given enough information? And what if the treatment they are given is not the right treatment? And what if they dont want the treatment? Can they be forced to have it? And what if the healthcare professionals do not want to guve them the treatment that they or their loved ones want them to have? The stakes can be very high.”
In the first section, she explains how the justice system works and why courts are so important, even though people often forget about them. The second section focuses on different groups (like children, disabled people, and patients) and shows that everyone has rights, even if they’re not always treated fairly. It also highlights how the law sometimes needs to treat people differently to make things equal. This section looked at different groups of people, women, patients, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and schoolkids. For each she highlights certain cases, asks the audience what they think and then explains how the judges ruled. This was by far my favourite section. In the final section, she looks at how laws are created and why it matters that they work for everyone in society.
Overall some parts were very interesting, especially section 2, while large parts just felt a bit boring. Part of this was due to the style of writing that I personally didn’t really like: it read like the script for a BBC documentary, where the author was walking around and sharing insights with me.
Quotes:
“There are two things which throughout history we have wanted and needed governments to do. The first is the defence of the realm - to keep us safe from any enemies who might want to attack us and take us over. The last time this succeeded was in 1066 when the Normans conquered England. Since then our governments have been pretty successful in keeping our enemies at bay, albeit at great cost and often with the help of our friends.
But what is the second thing that any government must do? It must keep the peace at home. It must have a system of laws which govern how people should behave towards one another. At its most basic, this means that people should not harm one another and should keep the promises they have made to one another. And there must be a justice system to enforce those laws. Where a person has been harmed or a promise has not been kept, there must be a remedy against the person who has done the harm or who has broken the promise. Sometimes the remedy is compensation - repar-ion for what the person wronged has iffered. Sometimes it is punishment - unpleasant consequences for the person who has done the wrong. And sometimes it is both.”
“They are essential to our functioning and to our well-being as a community
and a country. But this can so easily be forgotten - by anyone who is not already part of the system or willy-nilly involved with it, and even by the politicians whose job it is to decide upon policies and priorities. It is shocking that the justice system is not protected in the same way as health and education when public spending priorities are de-cided. it is shocking that this could be because we do not care about the justice system in the way that we care about health and education, because we cannot see what it has to do with us.”
“But we must never forget that a society cannot function without just laws and an effective justice system. It is time to put justice back on the agenda for all of us.”
“Sick and injured people are very vulnerable. They need expert help to make them better, but they dont always know what help they need or how to get it. They are very reliantnon what the healthcare professionals tell them. But what if they are given the wrong information? Or not given enough information? And what if the treatment they are given is not the right treatment? And what if they dont want the treatment? Can they be forced to have it? And what if the healthcare professionals do not want to guve them the treatment that they or their loved ones want them to have? The stakes can be very high.”
March 1, 2026
As a British non-lawyer, who has worked in a law-adjacent industry in the U.S. for the last few years, I bought this book to get a greater understanding of the UK (English and Welsh) legal system, having realised I was now more knowledgeable of the American legal system. This was a good overview which met my purpose although I wonder if it would have been as accessible if I hadn't had some background in some legal knowledge.
The book is well divided, into the three parts:
1. Structure of the legal system in England and Wales.
2. Examples of how the law applies in certain areas (labour law, equalities law, disabilities law etc).
3. The process of making common law, regulatory law, and statutory law in the British context.
While I was slightly surprised by how much time Lady Hale spent discussed the literal appearance of court rooms (including documenting the presence/lack of any wheelchair ramps), I think this is a result of her more general purpose to introduce the legal system to those from less advantaged backgrounds. The narrative style she uses is effective, I suspect particularly for that purpose, and she gives a good sense of the issues at play in an area, usually without too much technical detail. The narrative style can have its limits in some places; occasionally one feels it would be useful to have a more concise overview before a section (such as a diagram of the court system structure before Section 1, or an overview of the different types of law (property/tort/contract etc) before that section).
One of the most interesting things the book reveals, which while implicit in the book was perhaps the topic that I most hoped to learn about, is the degree to which political views can inform judicial decision making. I think that many in Britain look at the U.S.'s system and take comfort that we don't have the same politicisation of the courts. The book reveals that this may be less true than we believe. This is not in a party political way (Lady Hale documents the admirable process that she has been appointed by governments of both parties), but in terms of world view and political philosophy. Lady Hale's view of the legal interpretation are not hard to discern; her choice of examples and words make it clear, for instance, that she favours stronger labour rights over stronger employer rights. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The book ultimately left me with the view that we should recognise the role of these value judgements in the judicial system, and that this might help people take more interest in the decisions, just as they do in America.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it very informative; it certainly inspired me to continue reading more about the British legal system, which I feel so few of us engage with, compared to how Americans engage with theirs. We should all take more pride in the rich legal tradition we have in the UK.
The book is well divided, into the three parts:
1. Structure of the legal system in England and Wales.
2. Examples of how the law applies in certain areas (labour law, equalities law, disabilities law etc).
3. The process of making common law, regulatory law, and statutory law in the British context.
While I was slightly surprised by how much time Lady Hale spent discussed the literal appearance of court rooms (including documenting the presence/lack of any wheelchair ramps), I think this is a result of her more general purpose to introduce the legal system to those from less advantaged backgrounds. The narrative style she uses is effective, I suspect particularly for that purpose, and she gives a good sense of the issues at play in an area, usually without too much technical detail. The narrative style can have its limits in some places; occasionally one feels it would be useful to have a more concise overview before a section (such as a diagram of the court system structure before Section 1, or an overview of the different types of law (property/tort/contract etc) before that section).
One of the most interesting things the book reveals, which while implicit in the book was perhaps the topic that I most hoped to learn about, is the degree to which political views can inform judicial decision making. I think that many in Britain look at the U.S.'s system and take comfort that we don't have the same politicisation of the courts. The book reveals that this may be less true than we believe. This is not in a party political way (Lady Hale documents the admirable process that she has been appointed by governments of both parties), but in terms of world view and political philosophy. Lady Hale's view of the legal interpretation are not hard to discern; her choice of examples and words make it clear, for instance, that she favours stronger labour rights over stronger employer rights. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The book ultimately left me with the view that we should recognise the role of these value judgements in the judicial system, and that this might help people take more interest in the decisions, just as they do in America.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it very informative; it certainly inspired me to continue reading more about the British legal system, which I feel so few of us engage with, compared to how Americans engage with theirs. We should all take more pride in the rich legal tradition we have in the UK.
November 8, 2026
In With the Law on our Side, Lady Hale introduces her readers to the basics of the court system in Britian, and at times, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. She describes the types of courts and the variety of cases that each hears. She does this by visiting the different levels of courts and discussing the cases that she hears. She also describes the peculiarities and historical importance of those court buildings and court rooms.
Lady Hale frequently adds her opinion of the cases she hears on her visits and the legal reasons behind them. Some of them were based on the European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK follows. Since the UK left the European Union, I was a bit surprised that they were still committed to that Convention’s laws.
While the courts and the cases are somewhat similar to those in the US, I did get lost in the differences at times.
For me, as an American, the author herself was of high interest. I did not realize at first, that Lady Hale’s first name was not Lady. Her full name is Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond. Lady Hale is a member of the House of Lords, a barrister, a retired judge and, for several years, the President of the UK Supreme Court.
With the Law on our Side is a good introduction to the legal system in the UK. It would be a useful textbook for an appropriate course.
With the Law on our Side was longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
I listened to the audio book which was nicely narrated by the author.
Lady Hale frequently adds her opinion of the cases she hears on her visits and the legal reasons behind them. Some of them were based on the European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK follows. Since the UK left the European Union, I was a bit surprised that they were still committed to that Convention’s laws.
While the courts and the cases are somewhat similar to those in the US, I did get lost in the differences at times.
For me, as an American, the author herself was of high interest. I did not realize at first, that Lady Hale’s first name was not Lady. Her full name is Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond. Lady Hale is a member of the House of Lords, a barrister, a retired judge and, for several years, the President of the UK Supreme Court.
With the Law on our Side is a good introduction to the legal system in the UK. It would be a useful textbook for an appropriate course.
With the Law on our Side was longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
I listened to the audio book which was nicely narrated by the author.
March 1, 2026
2.5 stars
If this hadn't have been on the Women's Prize Longlist, I wouldn't have chosen to read it. I went into it assuming it was about the American justice system, I don't know why, so it was a surprise to see it's actually the UK. I didn't understand it all, I admit, some of it did go over my head. It's nothing spectacular, nothing new, and there's not much substance. It's almost a book that didn't need to be a book. There wasn't really a story so to speak, it felt like she was just writing facts without linking anything into one coherent piece.
If this hadn't have been on the Women's Prize Longlist, I wouldn't have chosen to read it. I went into it assuming it was about the American justice system, I don't know why, so it was a surprise to see it's actually the UK. I didn't understand it all, I admit, some of it did go over my head. It's nothing spectacular, nothing new, and there's not much substance. It's almost a book that didn't need to be a book. There wasn't really a story so to speak, it felt like she was just writing facts without linking anything into one coherent piece.
October 14, 2026
Very interesting and well written, but definitely gets a bit overly complicated towards the end, which tends to lose you after the more engaging sections on the different kinds of courts/tribunals & actual cases. Would definitely recommend to accompany "the Secret Barrister" and "How Westminster Works" to give a full overview of the courts system and where it struggles
November 6, 2026
An interesting read, it was definitely one that required brain power but i thought the ending was powerful and it taught me a lot (some i thought i already understood/knew - looking at you House of Lords). I liked that she included questions to encourage critical thinking and developing your own opinions that you could then compare to the courts decisions.
September 18, 2026
Informative and annoyingly useful. The author has made me appreciate the justice system more as it is often not considered important until people need to use it. I did However sometimes a bit dry and not enjoy juicy cases.
October 10, 2025
The first chapter was a snooze but it got better
November 3, 2025
An interesting exploration of the UK legal system
January 1, 2026
A great insight into the judicial system with fascinating examples of cases and applied practises.
Read
January 3, 2026very insightful and useful
Read
February 26, 2026Excellent for understanding the UK legal system. Lots of examples.
Longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.
Longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.
March 5, 2026
so damn boring
author also casually glosses over the racism and misogyny of the carceral state. lmao no thanks this should not have been dominated for the non fiction prize
author also casually glosses over the racism and misogyny of the carceral state. lmao no thanks this should not have been dominated for the non fiction prize
March 16, 2026
This was pretty dry and my attention drifted a bit.
April 11, 2026
I do feel like I already knew most of Lady Hale said, but it was really clear and accessible, and adding an extra star on cause she’s a legend.
May 25, 2026
Engagingly written, informative and thought provoking.
June 13, 2026
Very interesting particularly the anecdotes- on the structure of the courts a diagram would have been useful.
June 19, 2026
Accessible and a little dry but maybe that’s just the justice system
July 28, 2026
A great book with so much information & content. I did have to keep pausing & going back to the book. So much to take in but a very interesting read.
August 14, 2026
I think we should all read this but fear very few will.
August 14, 2026
A wonderful woman who knows so much about the law. This book guides the reader through specific aspects of our legal system. Eye opening and educational.
September 14, 2026
Bit dull.
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