Behind the Wig: The Hidden Cost of the Criminal Bar

What really happens behind the wigs, gowns, and solemn rituals of Britain’s criminal courts? In Behind the Wig: The Human Cost of the Criminal Bar, two barristers open up about the unseen emotional toll of defending justice in a system that often feels broken. Criminal defence barrister Catherine “Kate” Kelleher says it plainly: “The minute…

7 November 20250Comments

ByThe View Magazine

What really happens behind the wigs, gowns, and solemn rituals of Britain’s criminal courts? In Behind the Wig: The Human Cost of the Criminal Bar, two barristers open up about the unseen emotional toll of defending justice in a system that often feels broken.

Criminal defence barrister Catherine “Kate” Kelleher says it plainly: “The minute you mention the word court, there’s trauma involved.” Every person in that room — accused, victim, or advocate — carries distress. And as James Rossiter of the Criminal Bar Association explains, barristers absorb that trauma, again and again, while the system offers little space to recover.

Years of underfunding, pandemic isolation, and soaring workloads have left the profession at breaking point. The camaraderie once built over long dinners at the Inns of Court has vanished, replaced by silent screens and WhatsApp chats. “Now, I feel like a solitary human,” says Kelleher.

Meanwhile, justice itself is slowing to a crawl. With cases already listed years into the future, barristers are fighting to keep faith in a process they once revered. The public sees little of this hidden struggle — the fatigue, the quiet humour, the chocolate-bar lunches grabbed between hearings — or the deep humanity that still drives those who stand before the bench.

Behind the Wig is a rare, intimate look inside the criminal bar — where duty collides with emotion, and justice comes at a human cost.

Read the full story in The View 15 to discover the people behind the wigs — and why their work still matters.