The Secret Barrister
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barristersecret.bsky.social
The Secret Barrister
@barristersecret.bsky.social
Wears a black cape and fights crime. Not Batman.

Sunday Times No.1 Bestselling author•The Secret Barrister•#FakeLaw•Nothing But The Truth•

Also writes thrillers as S.J. Fleet. The Cut Throat Trial out now at all good bookshops.
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🎉IT’S PUBLICATION DAY!🎉

My first legal thriller, #TheCutThroatTrial!

The mutilated body of an old man is found in the street. Three teenagers nearby, caked in his blood.

Each points the finger at the others.

Each has his own story.

Available NOW in the links below 👇
Reposted by The Secret Barrister
New post just out:

Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list".

No part of the public sector is more broken or brings with it greater political risk. As we saw these past two weeks.

It desperately needs a new approach.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/f...
Flashing Red
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list"
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
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I feel like I could live with the brass neck - it is the seemingly successful way that he and others have brainwashed themselves into thinking “our crumbling justice system” has an explanation beyond “we didn’t spend enough money on it” that I can’t stand.
The brass neck is pretty incredible.
November 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
When I depart this profession - and I think we all know it’s only a matter of time - let this please be my epitaph.
November 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
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VOTING HAS STARTED FOR NOVEMBER!
Cast your vote now...
lawpawcalendar.com/vote-now-for...
October 30, 2025 at 8:24 AM
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Behold my Hallowe’en name.
October 25, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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Buckle up.
October 28, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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Last chance to enter! Send your photographs to BillableHourCalendar@outlook.com today!!
We are pleased to confirm that we will once again be holding a weekend amnesty!
That's right, we will be accepting entries all this weekend to: BillableHourCalendar@outlook.com
So (gently) grab your pets and start bribing them now! Or sneak a law book next to them whilst they’re sleeping…
October 26, 2025 at 11:26 AM
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Are you ready for Halloween? Terrify trick or treaters with the spectre of an enormous legal bill with our double-headed bat-winged monstrosity and help @savechildrenuk.bsky.social
Announcing @billablehour.bsky.social's very first Halloween T-shirt by the fabulous @soengery.bsky.social. Links in the reply. Also available in extra Goth.

As usual, all proceeds go to @savechildrenuk.bsky.social /1
October 26, 2025 at 7:42 AM
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I apologise for my earlier comments. They were phrased poorly and unintentionally revealed what goes on in my head.
October 25, 2025 at 9:40 PM
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A deep-dive into the fictional will and murder-for-inheritance scenario in Taylor Swift's Anti-Hero through the lens of English law — private purpose trusts, certainties, perpetuities, forfeiture, butterfly lifespans, cat pictures, and capricious pet bequests.

equitysdarling.co.uk/2025/10/23/s...
She Who Laughs Last? Pets, Perpetuities, and Other Problems with the Last Will and Testament of Taylor A. Swift - Equity's Darling
A legal analysis of Taylor Swift’s fictional will from Anti-Hero, exploring pets, perpetuities, probate pitfalls and the perils of home-drafted wills under English law.
equitysdarling.co.uk
October 25, 2025 at 7:43 AM
VOTE DAPHNE!

The feline with consummate literary taste.
Also paging @barristersecret.bsky.social as Daphne is posing with your book this year lawpawcalendar.com/vote-here-fo...
October 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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One feature of working at the Bar is that I come across a lot of very clever people. Of course it is a chastening reminder of one’s own limits, which is a moral good. After 34 years, I have changed my understanding of what cleverness is. /1
October 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
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A big thank you to everyone who propelled us to the top of the Legal Thrillers chart.

If you have anything positive to say about #TheCutThroatTrial once you’ve read it, I would be hugely grateful if you could leave a few words in review.

“Nice cover” or “plenty of law stuff” will do.
October 15, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Reposted by The Secret Barrister
NEW

Trying to make sense of the nonsensical decision to drop the Chinese spying prosecutions

How the positions of neither the CPS nor the government stand up to scrutiny

By me

emptycity.substack.com/p/trying-to-...
October 15, 2025 at 10:21 AM
A big thank you to everyone who propelled us to the top of the Legal Thrillers chart.

If you have anything positive to say about #TheCutThroatTrial once you’ve read it, I would be hugely grateful if you could leave a few words in review.

“Nice cover” or “plenty of law stuff” will do.
October 15, 2025 at 11:19 AM
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What’s that, you say?

You enjoy critically acclaimed gritty, authentic crime and legal thrillers?

You enjoy reading such thrillers on an electronic medium, such as e-book?

You enjoy ridonculous bargains?

#TheCutThroatTrial is a crazy £1.99 today.

Go nuts.

www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Throat-T...
October 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by The Secret Barrister
A must-have, for every home.
October 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
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This is just over 66p per defendant! Lower than legal aid rates. A bargain; it’s an excellent read. I won’t spoiler it but the last bit is extremely sinister and you probably won’t have guessed how. The book as a whole left me thinking about truth, and how it is rationed in the courtroom.
What’s that, you say?

You enjoy critically acclaimed gritty, authentic crime and legal thrillers?

You enjoy reading such thrillers on an electronic medium, such as e-book?

You enjoy ridonculous bargains?

#TheCutThroatTrial is a crazy £1.99 today.

Go nuts.

www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Throat-T...
October 14, 2025 at 11:13 AM
What’s that, you say?

You enjoy critically acclaimed gritty, authentic crime and legal thrillers?

You enjoy reading such thrillers on an electronic medium, such as e-book?

You enjoy ridonculous bargains?

#TheCutThroatTrial is a crazy £1.99 today.

Go nuts.

www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Throat-T...
October 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by The Secret Barrister
I have a new book coming!

EYE SPY is out in March 2026, it’s a thriller set on the Eurostar, and it looks a lot like this!

www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Spy-addi...
October 13, 2025 at 9:56 AM
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The Cut Throat Trial by @barristersecret.bsky.social is a superb legal thriller. I loved the drip feed approach by using the perspectives of different actors in the trial. It manages to be pacy, gripping, shocking, and yet, truly believable.

I’ve been recommending it to everyone.
October 12, 2025 at 2:19 PM
October 11, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by The Secret Barrister
The Bishop of Birmingham has written to the Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick about his comments about Handsworth
October 7, 2025 at 6:56 PM