With the Law on Our Side, Lady Hale
With the Law on Our Side, Lady Hale
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With the Law on Our Side
How the law works for everyone and how we can make it work better

Author: Lady Hale

Narrator: Lady Hale

Unabridged: 10 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/18/2025

Categories: Nonfiction, Law


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026*

Our laws and justice system are vast and ancient: they might touch our lives when we have an accident, a wrong is done to us, or we have a family difficulty. And they cover everything from the personal to the regulation of our government. But to most of us they are a web of intimidating institutions and practices.

Lady Hale – former President of the Supreme Court and an inspirational figure admired for her historic achievements and for the causes she has championed – shows us how the law is on our side. Taking us into the complexities of real courts and real decisions, we see that we all have rights: schoolchildren, the disabled, workers, minorities and patients.

Here are true stories from every part of the justice system, from lowly benefits tribunals and magistrates’ courts to the lofty heights of the Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey; stories about the dilemmas of deciding what is right and just, which invite you to say where justice lies before knowing what the courts decided. From mundane situations to the dramatic and the extraordinary, we see how the people whose needs the law is designed to protect actually experience it.

With The Law on Our Side is a citizen’s handbook to the law in our land, a top-to-bottom tour with a supremely expert guide. In captivating stories, it tells us what the law is about, how it works and most importantly why we should all care about it.

© Lady Hale 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Reviews

Goodreads review by Daniel on September 30, 2025

It’s an okay book. Nothing fantastic. Lady Hale takes you through the different court types very fleetingly, although fairly. I was a little surprised she referred to certain courts as “lowly”, which is quite insulting, even though it’s clear she means “lower” than the other courts. But a poor choic......more

Goodreads review by Lara on October 10, 2025

The first chapter was a snooze but it got better......more

Goodreads review by Julie on November 03, 2025

An interesting exploration of the UK legal system......more


Quotes

A personal journey around the law, with real and accessible stories and characters – a principled, timely and vital reminder of why justice matters

Brenda Hale is a national treasure. If this country made any sense, we'd make this book part of the syllabus

The Spiderwoman rides again; this time in plain clothes to report on how our legal system protects everyone. With the law under threat from decades of cuts, complacency and political hostility, this accessible, forensic and breathtakingly humane explanation may be her most important mission yet

Baroness Hale has done it again - combining wisdom, warmth, and razor-sharp insight to reveal how the law can serve not only the powerful but each and every one of us. This book is a rallying cry for justice that is truly on our side. It reminds us why the rule of law matters and why we must fight to preserve it

Lady Hale has drawn back the often impenetrable curtain of the law to show us how, at its heart, it exists to protect us all … Everyone who cares about a fair and just society should read this book

Lady Hale opens the doors of the British legal system with clarity, insight, and a passion for justice ... She writes with conviction and a deep belief in the power of the law to serve everyone ... A reminder of how rare it is to hear from someone who has sat at the very top and still takes the time to observe from the ground. She is, without question, a pioneer - and a living testament to how far the law has come, and how far it still must go

Essential reading. This is a remarkably accessible and engaging exploration of the social function of law and its vital role in protecting those whose voices are often unheard. With her legendary intellectual rigour and clarity, Lady Hale draws on her experience as a jurist and educator to demystify complex legal principles and bring them to life through compelling, real-world examples

An excellent beginner's guide to the work of the courts be someone who knows them from both sides

[A] uniquely comprehensive and accessible explanation of our court system and law-making process… Hale shows why access to justice matters for everyone Week

[With the Law on Our Side] is primarily a book about everyday justice and on this it is powerful and urgent … The fundamental problem is how society thinks about justice … [Lady Hale's] book reminds us why it matters Financial Times