In barrister turned author Sarah Langford’s book, ‘In Your Defence: Stories of Life and Law’, we meet eleven clients that Sarah represented (or had legal dealings with) and which their stories had have stayed with her. The cases are varied and whilst some were handled in the family courts, others were serious enough to go before the Crown.

Each chapter is a new case. At the beginning, you are given the clients name, where they were tried and the law which their crime comes under. For example, the first case is that of Dominic who was tried at Oxford Magistrate Court and Oxford Crown Court. The legal issue is covered under ‘Children and Young Persons Act 1933, Section 50 – Age of Criminal Responsibility’.

Each case is unique and they were all very interesting. Some were heart-breaking, whilst others were heart-warming. The book does read like a fictional story, yet you are conscious that it is all real. You not only get to find out about the clients but also about Sarah herself too. Some stories are also truly harrowing, whilst others might have you wanting to know why Sarah would take the case on.

In Your Defence was riveting and I felt fully engaged the whole way through. I do like criminal case stories, whether real or fictional, so this book was right up my alley. It was an interesting look at the UK’s criminal justice service and how it works. I was surprised to learn how close to the court case that Sarah gets the paperwork, sometimes only a matter of hours before.

Sarah’s voice comes across so clear and she has a way of engaging the reader. The words just flowed naturally and I would love to have read about more cases as I was that intrigued in Sarah’s legal world.

About the Author

Sarah Langford has been a practising barrister since 2006, both in London and around the country, principally in criminal and family law. She studied English at the University of the West of England.

She worked as a barmaid, legal secretary and note-taking clerk before completing a law conversion, in which she gained a distinction. She was awarded a scholarship from Gray’s Inn of Court and went on to train as a barrister. She lives with her husband and two small boys in London and Suffolk.