Under The Wig

How can you speak up for someone accused of a savage murder? Or sway a jury? Or get a judge to drop a case?

In this vivid memoir, veteran English lawyer William Clegg revisits his most intriguing trials, from the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando to the UK's first prosecution for Nazi war crimes.

All the while the celebrated advocate lays bare the secrets of his profession, from the rivalry among barristers to the nervous moments before a verdict comes back - and how our right to a fair trial is now at risk.

Under the Wig is for anyone who wants to know the reality of a murder trial. Switch off the TV dramas and plunge into the criminal law in action. 

Well-known cases featured: 

• Murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common
• Chillenden Murders of Dr Lin and Megan Russell
• Lee Clegg, when Labour leader Keir Starmer was his junior
• Murder of Jill Dando
• First Nazi war crimes prosecution in the UK
• Murder of Joanna Yeates
• Rebekah Brooks Phone Hacking Trial

A barrister for 47 years, William 'Bill' Clegg has been the go-to lawyer for complex murder and fraud cases for decades. He headed 2 Bedford Row, a leading criminal barristers chambers in London.

Reviews

'Countless veteran lawyers have produced page-tuners based in the fictional world of law, but in Under the Wig William Clegg, QC, has distilled his extraordinary life in the criminal courtroom into a yarn equally as gripping.

'He has had the undoubted advantage of having appeared in some of the most high profile of cases of the modern era, including the murder of the TV presenter Jill Dando, the Chillenden Murders, the Colin Stagg case and the prosecution of Private Clegg in Northern Ireland.

'But the silk deals with them like a textbook legal hero - highly analytical, taking nothing for granted and, in most cases, able to undermine a dodgy prosecution argument with a deadly accuracy.'

- The Times

'One of England's best barristers provides a fascinating sometimes hilarious combination of a personal odyssey and insider accounts of the most important and famous court cases of recent times. 

'From the infamous case of Colin Stagg and the Wimbledon Murders to war crimes in Belarus and Bosnia and the Murdoch phone hacking trials we share and applaud the author's deep commitment to justice and his infectious enthusiasm for one of the world's greatest professions. An absolute must read for anyone who aspires to join it (and anyone who already has.)'

- Bob Marshall-Andrews QC

'Bill Clegg's memoir draws on some of the most high-profile criminal prosecutions of recent years to illuminate the career of a defence lawyer at the peak of his success.

'Deftly weaving personal reminiscences into the view from counsel's bench, he solves one high-profile murder case long before the police and ensures that justice is finally done in another after the tactics adopted by a better-known QC have led to a miscarriage of justice. 

'Unlike many works of this genre, Clegg's case-book eschews endless exchanges with long-forgotten judges, lawyers and villains. Like the successful jury advocate that he is, Clegg reduces his story to its essence. He speaks plainly, sparing us the the bombast and the braggadocio.'

'And those who still aspire to join the criminal bar will learn more from Clegg than Clegg ever did from Perry Mason.'

- Joshua Rozenberg QC