Description

THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘A powerful polemic’ – The Sunday Times
‘A compelling, eye-opening read’ – Daily Express

– Did an illegal immigrant avoid deportation because he had a cat?
– Is the law on the side of the burglar who enters your home?
– Are unelected judges ‘enemies of the people’?

Most of us think the law is only relevant to criminals, if we even think of it at all. But the law touches every area of our lives: from intimate family matters to the biggest issues in our society.

Our unfamiliarity is dangerous because it makes us vulnerable to media spin, political lies and the kind of misinformation that frequently comes from loud-mouthed amateurs and those with vested interests. This ‘fake law’ allows the powerful and the ignorant to corrupt justice without our knowledge – worse, we risk letting them make us complicit.

Thankfully, the Secret Barrister is back to reveal the stupidity, malice and incompetence behind many of the biggest legal stories of recent years. In Fake Law, the Secret Barrister debunks the lies and builds a defence against the abuse of our law, our rights and our democracy that is as entertaining as it is vital.
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Writing as S. J. Fleet, The Secret Barrister’s first novel, The Cut Throat Trial, is available for pre-order now.

Publisher Review

Well written, both punchy and providing concise explanations of complex laws . . . a powerful polemic that also acts as a primer about our legal rights -- Rosamund Urwin * Sunday Times * The Secret Barrister mounts a powerful defence of lawyers and the law from their noisy detractors . . . this is an urgent and highly readable book. You will come away from it feeling that your mind has been purged -- Thomas Grant * The Times * Fake Law is a compelling, eye-opening read and should act as a wake-up call for anyone with an interest in how the law, and, by extension, society and justice function - that is to say, every one of us. -- Huston Gilmore * Daily Express * The authority of this author is in the sheer quality of the writing. To keep up to this standard in tweet after tweet, blogpost after blogpost, and now book after book is remarkable - especially if, as the author tells us, they do all this in addition to a busy and stressful criminal practice * Prospect * I enjoyed reading this book. It is well-written and informative and the SB is right to lament the levels of public ignorance about the way the system works. -- Philip Johnston * Daily Telegraph * The Secret Barrister picks apart the "deliberate smokescreen" of falsehoods with which the UK government justifies its policies and the methods employed by a compliant press to amplify and embellish them. Unashamedly polemical but legally watertight, Fake Law is a disturbing indictment * Herald * This is not the easiest book you will read this summer. But it will be one of the most educational and alarming * Strong Words * A defence of the legal system and expose of agenda-driven politicians, click-hungry tabloid editors and powerful corporate interests who persuade us that the system is stacked in favour of criminals and the undeserving. In fact, the resulting changes to the law mean our own rights - for example, to legal aid - are being quietly eroded * Daily Mirror * A much-needed book that looks at some of the biggest myths behind the legal system. Fans of the Secret Barrister will be pleased with the latest instalment, which offers well-written insight, making difficult-to-understand laws clearer with interesting and current case studies. -- Megan Baynes * Press Association * The anonymous campaigning lawyer returns with a myth-busting new book that takes on the many detractors of the law and legal profession. * The Times *