Defending the Guilty: Episode 1

September 25, 2019 1:22 AM - Season 1, Episode 1

Will Packham is an idealistic pupil barrister - or idealistic for now. His clients are at least as guilty as sin. His pupil-master Caroline thinks he is a gutless snowflake. His fellow pupils want the same job as him and would stab each other to get it. Over the course of two days, Will has to defend a would-be murderer, keep a young slam poet out of custody and fetch Caroline a range of pastries. Can Will hold onto his principles and prove he has what it takes?
posted by ellieBOA (2 comments total)

I watched the pilot when it first aired a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, subject to the caveat that it inevitably takes some liberties with how pupillage (the final, vocation stage of training to be an English or Welsh barrister) works for dramatic and comedic purposes. In particular, these days hardly any barristers' chambers run pupillage as a further round of selection; you have to pay pupils (a stipend during the non-practising 'first six', and an earnings top-up during the practising 'second six') and so it's just uneconomic to recruit and pay four pupils if you only expect to give tenancy to one of them.

The whole series has dropped on iPlayer so when I get the chance I'll watch the rest. Feedback from some of my junior colleagues who've already watched it is that it's funny and, subject to what I said above, is actually horribly accurate in many little ways.
posted by Major Clanger at 4:41 AM on September 26, 2019

Thanks for the insight!
posted by ellieBOA at 10:05 AM on September 26, 2019