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With the Law on Our Side
**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026*
'A principled, timely and vital reminder of why justice matters' PHILIPPE SANDS
'Accessible, forensic and breathtakingly humane' SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
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.
'Brenda Hale is a national treasure. If this country made any sense, we'd make this book part of the syllabus' IAN DUNT
'A principled, timely and vital reminder of why justice matters' PHILIPPE SANDS
'Accessible, forensic and breathtakingly humane' SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
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.
'Brenda Hale is a national treasure. If this country made any sense, we'd make this book part of the syllabus' IAN DUNT
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 19, 2026
Genuinely really interesting and accessible. Considering the technicality of the subject matter it was very easy to get through.
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.
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.
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 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 12, 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.
September 30, 2025
It’s an okay book. Nothing fantastic. Lady Hale takes you through the different court types very fleetingly, although fairly. I was a little surprised she referred to certain courts as “lowly”, which is quite insulting, even though it’s clear she means “lower” than the other courts. But a poor choice of words.
There’s nothing new really. It feels like a book written for the sake of writing a book. Which is a shame as Ladt Hale is an amazing trailblazer.
There’s nothing new really. It feels like a book written for the sake of writing a book. Which is a shame as Ladt Hale is an amazing trailblazer.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews