William Clegg QC - Under The Wig

Rating: 5/5

Review:
An excellent, concise account

I thought Under The Wig was an excellent account of a barrister’s life.

William Clegg QC is a leading barrister with decades of experience in the practice of English law. In this commendably brief memoir he intersperses explanations of how a barrister’s life works and some reminiscences of his own progress with outlines of some famous cases where he has acted for the defence. These include Colin Stagg, cleared of killing Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common, Barry George, cleared of shooting Jill Dando and many others. Clegg (with his ghost writer, John Troup) has a crisp, honest, matter-of-fact style which I found both readable and very effective in conveying both the interesting factual elements and the more dramatic aspects of trial work.

At about 150 pages, Under The Wig says more than a lot of books twice its length. It is both a fascinating read and a welcome, timely account. If you have any interest whatsoever in legal matters and the way the law works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland I can recommend it very highly.

(My thanks to Canbury Press for an ARC via NetGalley.)