Under the Wig: A Lawyer's Stories of Murder, Guilt and Innocence

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I’ve definitely come away from this book with a little more understanding of some aspects of the law than I had before. It makes more sense to me now how some points of a case get dropped early on, and how different points are argued during a trial. THE CHILLENDEN MURDERS. Sometimes a barrister feels he will win a case. When he acts for Michael Stone, Clegg feels the dice are loaded against him. Stone, a heroin addict, is arrested in 1997 and charged with the murders of Lin and Megan Russell and the attempted murder of Josie Russell in Kent Lawyers in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, the legal set up is more similar to the US where a lawyer can represent you in court. A lawyer can become a QC if he is at the highest level of practice and often, just as in the UK may sit as a judge. However, major cases in the Caribbean will still usually have a barrister brought out from the UK to represent them. Under the Wig gives an insight into the criminal justice world from the perspective of William Clegg, QC, a judge, barrister, and head of chambers in one of the leading sets for criminal work in the country. I really enjoyed reading this book and how it brings in different perspectives. Clegg provides a highly accessible, straightforward explanation of complex legal areas such as the law around murder, and gets to the heart of principles underlying the principles of our criminal justice system. The opening chapter worked well for me in setting this scene in this regard.

WAKING THE DEAD IN BELARUS. Clegg takes on the UK's first case under 1991 War Crimes Act and is introduced to a gentle 84-year-old from Surrey: Szymon Serafinowicz, who is accused of murdering Jews during World War II. Simon Wiesenthal Centre says he was 'Commander' of Belarussian police in MirUnder the Wig is for anyone who wants to know the reality of a murder trial. It has been praised as "gripping" by The Times, "riveting" by the Sunday Express and "fascinating" by the Secret Barrister, who described the author as "one of our country's greatest jury advocates." From how he started in the world of law, to going behind the scenes at some of the most infamous trials he was involved in, I found this to be such an interesting read. He shares a number of outspoken opinions on cases he's been involved in as well as his thoughts on the system as it is and the many changes he's seen take place over the years - not all for the best! - as well as how technology has changed working on each cases. No such thing as the internet when he first started out!

Mr William Clegg QC, has a calm and smooth writing style. Though it speaks of some of the most passionate and emotion filled moments someone can find themselves in, he always remains calm in his retelling. Murder, though, is different.” Clients don’t admit to murder, but if they admit to the killing at all it is in the hope of relying on a defence, such as provocation or diminished responsibility, which will reduce the offence to manslaughter, or even self-defence which will exonerate them completely.Hukukî yönü ağır basan bir metin olmasına rağmen çevirinin kafa karışıklığına yol açmadığını ve başarılı olduğunu da ayrıca belirtmem lazım. THE MURDER OF JILL DANDO. At 11.30am on 26 April 1999 a BBC Tv presenter is shot dead outside her home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham. A local man, Barrie George, is convicted of killing her. Amid intense media coverage, Clegg appeals the key ballistics evidence in the case A fascinating glimpse into a world that I am familiar with only through television and books – the law and particularly the world of criminal barristers. PERRY MASON AND THE ART OF ADVOCACY. Growing up in a working-class home in Essex in 1960s England, Clegg loves the drama and showdowns of the American legal TV show Perry Mason and resolves to become a criminal barrister. He studies law at Bristol University and joins Gray's Inn, an inn of court

Stagg was eventually allowed to go free, after the controversial honeytrap evidence was ruled inadmissible, but his ordeal could so easily have resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice. Clegg is almost sorry not to have had a chance to cross-examine the police witnesses, but observes that “Defence barristers will happily take the folding of the prosecution case above being able to tear into a witness.” Ultimately, the client comes first. The great virtue of this utterly compelling book is that Bill Clegg QC tells it as it is. Now, in the terrible chaos engulfing a great profession and on his way to the top. A life of a top criminal advocate within a profession he loves and adorns, with many high profile cases well summarised. Written for the interested non-lawyer, it has an excellent structure of career progression and specific cases combined together, chapter by chapter. It reads like the man: direct, clear, properly combative, reasonable and devoid of artificial rhetorical.There is a general feeling of squalor that you might expect in a developing country (but curiously do not find there, because respect for the rule of law demands that the courts are properly maintained). Here, in one of the largest economies in Europe, that does not appear to be the case.’ Missing are detailed pen portraits of fellow advocates, but that would have missed the point of a book which sets out unambiguously to demystify and to inform. It will serve equally well for any would-be lawyers, who, like the author and many of us, did not have any inside legal connections before we began. Absorb with joy the advice on how to appeal to a jury and remember it. Cherish equally how to win the trust of a judge. This is a gripping book – one that once you start reading you just don’t want to put down. The writing flows and it reads like a fiction book in the sense that it’s very accessible and holds your interest from start to finish. I really enjoyed Under the Wig and definitely recommend it! How can you speak up for someone accused of a savage murder? Or sway a jury? Or get a judge to drop a case?

If you are an American you won't know what a barrister is, nor what 'taking silk' means, so some definitions first., in spoilers so you can skip them if you are from the UK.

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From war criminals, murderers, the wrongly accused, and fraud cases, this is a book that covers a wide range of dealings inside the world of law and the grim reality of brutal cases which show it isn't like it is on TV. Clegg has worked on some of the most horrific murder cases in recent history as a defence lawyer, as well as some other really interesting cases such as WW2 war crimes. He tells these cases as intriguing stories, but in a clearly factual and objective way. I really like the personal story angle, describing his relatively humble beginnings to achieving great success in his legal career. There are also chapters that give an insight into the work of a barrister, and he ends with an important commentary on the current crisis facing the legal profession, which is something that potentially puts the principles of justice in this country at risk. The cases where he identified miscarriages of justice that arose (and continue to arise) from police investigations highlight why we need good lawyers and a robust criminal justice system.