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. 'Principled, timely and vital' PHILIPPE SANDS 'Powerful and urgent' FINANCIAL TIMES 'If this country made any sense, we'd make this book part of the syllabus' IAN DUNT If we are lucky, we'll never have an accident, or be wronged, or face a family difficulty. But what if we do? How do we make sense of the justice system - this vast and arcane world - and ensure it is in our corner? Lady Hale, former President of the Supreme Court, takes us inside our courts to reveal how the law works in real time. From everyday tribunals to the lofty heights of the Royal Courts of Justice, and through captivating true stories of real cases and people, we share in the complexity of deciding what is right, feel the human drama of our legal system and learn what the law truly is. Ultimately, we see how the law serves everyone - and why we must care about it. 'Everyone who cares about a fair and just society should read this book' SARAH LANGFORD 'Informative, enjoyable and compelling' OBSERVER 'Accessible, forensic and breathtakingly humane' SHAMI CHAKRABARTI 'A rallying cry for justice that is truly on our side' CHERIE BLAIR KC Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2026

Portrait

Brenda Hale, Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE, was born in Yorkshire and studied Law at Girton College, Cambridge. She was called to the Bar in 1969 and spent almost twenty years in academia whilst also practising as a barrister for a short time. In 1984, Lady Hale became the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she oversaw critical reforms in family law and mental disability law. She also began sitting as a part time judge, was appointed a QC in 1989, and became a full time judge in the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales in 1994. She was the first and only woman to become a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, joining the appellate committee of the House of Lords in 2004, when it was still the top court for the whole United Kingdom. She was the first woman to serve on the newly created Supreme Court, was appointed Deputy President in 2013, and its President from 2017 to 2020. She lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir Spider Woman and With the Law On Our Side.