How the law works for everyone and how we can make it work better

With the Law on Our Side

How the Law Works and How We Can Make It Work Better for Everyone

**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026* 
 
'A principled, timely and vital reminder of why justice matters' PHILIPPE SANDS 
'Accessible, forensic and breathtakingly humane' SHAMI CHAKRABARTI 
 
Told through captivating real cases in real courts, the former President of the Supreme Court leads us on a deeply entertaining and vitally important top-to-bottom tour of the law in our land. 
 
Our laws and justice system might touch our lives when we have an accident, a wrong is done to us, or we have a family difficulty. They are vast, ancient and 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 – an inspirational figure admired for her historic achievements and activism – 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, disabled people, 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, and which invite you to say where justice lies before knowing what the courts decided. We see first-hand how the people whose needs the law is designed to protect actually experience it. 
 
With the Law on Our Side is a citizen’s guidebook 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. 
 
'Brenda Hale is a national treasure. If this country made any sense, we'd make this book part of the syllabus' IAN DUNT

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

Philippe Sands, author of East West Street

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

Ian Dunt, author of How Westminster Works... And Why it Doesn't

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

Shami Chakrabarti, author of Human Rights

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

Sarah Langford, author of In Your Defence

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

Jonathan Sumption, author of The Challenges of Democracy

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

[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

An engaging and authoritative book that shines a spotlight on the underappreciated working of grassroots justice

A charming book, pleasingly old-fashioned and opinionated … She describes the hearings she attends at each venue with a keen eye and a freshness of perspective … Hale writes lucidly and expertly about it all … An interesting book, written from the perspective of one who has occupied the highest judicial office in the land

Informative and enjoyable … With the Law on Our Side is a compelling read that should allow people to understand and appreciate the legal system better

Brenda Hale, Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE, was born in Yorkshire and studied Law at Girton College, Cambridge. She was called to the Bar in 1969 and spent almost twenty years in academia whilst also practising as a barrister for a short time. 
 
In 1984, Lady Hale became the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she oversaw critical reforms in family law and mental disability law. She also began sitting as a part time judge, was appointed a QC in 1989, and became a full time judge in the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales in 1994. 
 
She was the first and only woman to become a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, joining the appellate committee of the House of Lords in 2004, when it was still the top court for the whole United Kingdom. She was the first woman to serve on the newly created Supreme Court, was appointed Deputy President in 2013, and its President from 2017 to 2020. 
 
She lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire. 
 
She is the author of the acclaimed memoir Spider Woman and With the Law On Our Side.

Our laws and justice system might touch our lives when we have an accident, a wrong is done to us, or we have a family difficulty. They are vast, ancient and 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, disabled people, 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, and 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 guidebook 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.

A Life – by the former President of the Supreme Court

Spider Woman

Brenda Hale is a superhero who embodies Parker's law that great power brings equivalent responsibility. Her wise, accessible memoir is essential, entertaining and inspirational reading for all lovers of freedom, equality and justice

What a life, what a story... Spider Woman is restrained, warm, dryly funny ... and an inspiration to all women to aim high... Whatever her title, Brenda Hale rocks

A feminist icon... Her success story is an inspiration for men and women both - showing that law matters

This book is not only essential reading for anyone who is in the Law or interested in the Law but it is also a fascinating personal story

A compelling account of a path-breaking and inspirational career by one of the most influential lawyers and judges of our times

Brenda Hale's story is extraordinary. She has been a pioneer as a woman... Spider woman and agent of change

Lady Hale takes us on the journey from 'girly swot' to 'Spider Woman' and along the way teaches us about the importance of the rule of law and protecting human rights... with humanity, humour and deep insight

This is an extraordinary and essential journey through the law by the most inspiring of figures

Fluently written... Her accounts of her more groundbreaking cases are fascinating... [Spider Woman is] quietly thrilling

Eye-opening... I would highly recommend the work to law students, the newly qualified and those with a sociolegal interest in the treatment of women within the law and the profession

A wonderful story... A wonderful read. A wonderful woman

A fascinating memoir weaving together personal and professional reflections

Baroness Hale's autobiography, Spider Woman, is a reminder of the huge but incomplete progress made by women in public life over the past 60 years... The willingness to talk truth to power that she has shown is needed now more than ever

[A] compelling autobiography... Hale reveals more than one might expect

Lady Hale... is a trailblazer for social reform. Her sharp intelligence and fierce work ethic are striking... Reading her autobiography makes one wish to know her as a person... She appears so very admirable for being oddly both self-effacing and feisty

Brenda Hale, Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE, was born in Yorkshire and studied Law at Girton College, Cambridge. She was called to the Bar in 1969 and spent almost twenty years in academia whilst also practising as a barrister for a short time. 
 
In 1984, Lady Hale became the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she oversaw critical reforms in family law and mental disability law. She also began sitting as a part time judge, was appointed a QC in 1989, and became a full time judge in the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales in 1994. 
 
She was the first and only woman to become a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, joining the appellate committee of the House of Lords in 2004, when it was still the top court for the whole United Kingdom. She was the first woman to serve on the newly created Supreme Court, was appointed Deputy President in 2013, and its President from 2017 to 2020. 
 
She lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire. 
 
She is the author of the acclaimed memoir Spider Woman and With the Law On Our Side.

Lady Hale is an inspirational figure admired for her historic achievements and for the causes she has championed. Spider Woman is her story. 
 
 As 'a little girl from a little school in a little village in North Yorkshire', she only went into the law because her headteacher told her she wasn't clever enough to study history. She became the most senior judge in the country but it was an unconventional path to the top. 
 
 How does a self-professed 'girly swot' get ahead in a profession dominated by men? Was it a surprise that the perspectives of women and other disadvantaged groups had been overlooked, or that children's interests were marginalised? A lifelong smasher of glass-ceilings, who took as her motto 'women are equal to everything', her landmark rulings in areas including domestic violence, divorce, mental health and equality were her attempt to correct that. 
 
 As President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale won global attention in finding the 2019 prorogation of Parliament to be unlawful. Yet that dramatic moment was merely the pinnacle of a career throughout which she was hailed as a pioneering reformer. 
 
 Wise, warm and inspiring, Spider Woman shows how the law shapes our world and supports us in crisis. It is the story of how Lady Hale found that she could overcome the odds, which shows that anyone from similar beginnings will find that they can cope too.

Lady Hale

Rowan Williams

Two leading thinkers present alternative answers to one of the most difficult and divisive questions of our times. 
 
As pressure grows to legalise assisted dying in the United Kingdom, the issue remains deeply contested. For those who feel unsure or undecided, this book o­ffers clarity rather than slogans, illuminating the legal and ethical fault lines at the heart of the debate: between autonomy and safety; between personal choice and collective responsibility. 
 
Lady Hale, former president of the Supreme Court, argues that everyone should have the freedom to decide the time and manner of their own death. Drawing on real cases in real courts, she explores how the law might establish e­ffective safeguards while preserving an individual’s right to decide for themselves when their suffering becomes unbearable. 
 
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, sits in opposition, contending that no such right can ever be absolute, or unqualified. He raises moral and practical concerns about the protection of vulnerable communities – especially those living with disabilities – the pressures facing an already overstretched NHS and the risk that assisted dying could become a substitute for properly funded palliative care. 
 
Both confront the questions and decisions we all must face: who should be eligible for assisted dying; how should it be authorised; who should deliver the programme; and what modern medicine could, and should, provide. Ultimately, they turn to a deeper challenge: how a public healthcare system can universally uphold dignity, and what it would truly mean to offer us all what we profoundly deserve – a good death. 
 
Published in conjunction with Intelligence Squared, the world’s leading curator of debate, this book is part of the Think Again series: short books that present two expert, contrasting but equally persuasive views in a single volume.

Lady Hale

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