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I read The Secret Barrister's eponymous first book in 2020, around the time I was in Nottingham for IVFDF. Fake Law is their second book, and is about how (and to some extent why) the law and its operation is systematically misreported (by media and politicians).
Each chapter follows a similar structure, for different areas of law: some headlines and interview / twitter snippets are outlined about a particular case or cases, and then the author goes through the facts behind the cases concerned, how the law in that area actually operations, and how the misinformation was harmful to the individuals concerned and/or wider society.
I think that is, perhaps, a key message of this book - the law is not just about the individuals concerned in a particular case; we like to think we live in a country ruled by laws, but there has been a distinct trend in recent years to undermine the rule of law - either by direct and mendacious attacks on judges from those who should know better (and/or whose job it is to uphold the independence of the judiciary), or by blocking access to the courts to all except the very rich, or by encouraging us all to think of law as merely something that happens to other people. The Secret Barrister's argument is that the rule of law is there for all of us: to ensure that the executive can be answerable to the laws made by parliament, to ensure that we are all treated fairly (for example, that my employer who acts legally is not disadvantaged by doing so), that the state cannot deprive us of property or liberty without due process, and so on. Law only works if everyone can rely on it being fairly enforced.
They are a persuasive and clear (if occasionally slightly condescending) writer. A weak point is perhaps that while the short final chapter does outline some structural improvements that might be made, I didn't come away from reading it feeling like there was much I could do (send my MP a copy??) to improve the situation...
Each chapter follows a similar structure, for different areas of law: some headlines and interview / twitter snippets are outlined about a particular case or cases, and then the author goes through the facts behind the cases concerned, how the law in that area actually operations, and how the misinformation was harmful to the individuals concerned and/or wider society.
I think that is, perhaps, a key message of this book - the law is not just about the individuals concerned in a particular case; we like to think we live in a country ruled by laws, but there has been a distinct trend in recent years to undermine the rule of law - either by direct and mendacious attacks on judges from those who should know better (and/or whose job it is to uphold the independence of the judiciary), or by blocking access to the courts to all except the very rich, or by encouraging us all to think of law as merely something that happens to other people. The Secret Barrister's argument is that the rule of law is there for all of us: to ensure that the executive can be answerable to the laws made by parliament, to ensure that we are all treated fairly (for example, that my employer who acts legally is not disadvantaged by doing so), that the state cannot deprive us of property or liberty without due process, and so on. Law only works if everyone can rely on it being fairly enforced.
They are a persuasive and clear (if occasionally slightly condescending) writer. A weak point is perhaps that while the short final chapter does outline some structural improvements that might be made, I didn't come away from reading it feeling like there was much I could do (send my MP a copy??) to improve the situation...
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