Alan Paterson argues that, in a democracy, legal institutions are too important to be defined and controlled by lawyers alone.

The House of Lords, for over 300 years the UK's highest court, was transformed in 2009 into the UK Supreme Court. This book provides a compelling and unrivaled view into the workings of the Court during its final decade, and into the formative years of the Supreme Court. Drawing on over 100 interviews, including a total of 36 Law Lords, this is a landmark study of appellate judging 'from the inside, ' written by an author whose earlier work on the House of Lords has provided a scholarly benchmark for over 30 years. With insights from social psychology and strategic theory and collegiality,...

Winner of the Inner Temple book prize 2015 and the Socio-Legal Studies Association Book prize 2014/15 The House of Lords, for over 300 years the UK's highest court, was transformed in 2009 into the UK Supreme Court. This book provides a compelling and unrivalled view into the workings of the Court during its final decade, and into the formative years of the Supreme Court. Drawing on over 100 interviews, including more than 40 with Law Lords and Justices, and uniquely, some of their judicial notebooks, this is a landmark study of appellate judging 'from the inside' by an author whose...