The Hearing – A Legal Podcast

How does a construction barrister based in London, end up in Sierra Leone, advising local government on faecal sludge? After 19 years as a Construction Barrister, Lucy Garret QC, was getting a little bit bored and wanted a change of scenery. So, she did what most of us can only dream of and took an 18-month sabbatical. Leaving London, and travelling over 4,000 miles south to Freetown, Sierra Leone...

In this episode Kevin meets with Freshfields knowledge lawyer, Lloyd Rees, to discuss his refreshing three-part blog series, addressing his own anxiety and depression. Lloyd talks frankly about his decision to publish such private struggles, going right back to his teens. He shares his own experience with chemical depression, his recovery at The Nightingale Hospital and the amazing turnaround from...

Welcome to The Hearing's first Legal Debate. In this special episode, we feature a blockbuster bout between legal, political and media heavyweights. Listen in as the Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish and the 'Queen of Sanctions' Maya Lester QC go head-to-head with journalist and author Alastair Campbell, and Monckton Chambers' own Ben Emmerson QC, debating on whether sanctions are fair and eff...

This week’s guest has experienced a wealth of colourful nicknames including ‘The Riviera Gigolo’, ‘The Burnley Bruiser’ and ‘The Real Deputy Prime Minister’. Yes, it’s former Downing Street Press Secretary and Director of Communications, Alastair Campbell. He’s chatting to us about the trivial (a love of bagpipes and his ‘soft-porn first forays into writing’), to the momentous (Boris Johnson being...

Imagine this: you're 13 and bullied for being 'ugly'. But in a dramatic turn of events, you put the middle finger up to your bullies and land a modelling job for Vogue that your peers could only dream of. Then you're suddenly plunged into a world of 16 hour days, starvation diets and made to strip naked at work on a regular basis. So, what do you do? If you're this week's guest, Leanne Maskell, yo...

This week’s guest is Mary Robinson (never to be called Mrs. Robinson), a lawyer and diplomat who served as the 7th President of Ireland. Kevin and Mary talk about how her early life as the only girl of four siblings ignited her desire for gender equality and how in her own words ‘she learned how to use her elbows’. A former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary talks in a refreshingly frank way...

Holed up in a small Nordic city, a disruptive genius develops a robot lawyer designed to methodically take over the Norwegian legal industry. But this isn't a synopsis for the next big Scandi thriller – it's the latest episode of The Hearing. This week's guest, Morten Tidemann, flew in from Stavanger in Norway. He's best known for the innovative methods he's using to disrupt the business of law. M...

In this episode we meet a woman who describes herself as a thrill seeking, motorbiking, bungee jumping, feminist, activist and pansexual. From that intro, who would have thought we'd be speaking to a top QC? This week, Kevin catches up with good friend Brie Stevens-Hoare. And, after 5 minutes of listening, it will feel like you've known Brie for years too. Not one for conforming or seeking accolad...

The first question Kevin posed when he sat down with our latest high-profile guest was: is it BLAIR or BOOTH? Yes, our latest interviewee on The Hearing is former 10 Downing Street resident, barrister, lecturer and writer, as well as the founder and chair of Omnia Strategy, Cherie Blair (Booth). Kevin heads across to leafy Marylebone to sit down with Cherie, where she shares anecdotes from her lif...

Before our Kevin was the high-profile, polished podcaster he is today, he cut his teeth co-hosting a pioneering and often controversial weekly podcast with our latest guest. Often equated to the Popbitch of law, everyone knows Legal Cheek – as it's the most read legal website in the UK. But does everyone know the man behind it? In the final episode of season 3, Kevin catches up with Legal Cheek's...

When your job involves advising UEFA, taking photos with Usain Bolt and guiding the next generation of sports stars, you know you're onto a good thing. With a career spanning football, swimming, athletics, volleyball and the Olympics, Rowena Samarasinhe is a sports-loving lawyer, living a sports lover's dream. Kevin caught up with Rowena, who's now a partner at Level – a niche sports, media and te...

Imagine being wrongfully accused of a crime you didn't commit. Being snatched from the life you know and sentenced for a lifetime. Knowing you're innocent and having to fight with yourself and those arguing against you, every single day. This isn't a scenario from a Netflix crime series; this is real life for many. In this episode of The Hearing, Kevin sits down with Lara Bazelon, author of 'Recti...

What’s the recipe to a good podcast conversation? Take 1 chatty Yorkshireman. Add a former lawyer, turned celebrity chef and baker. Stir in a pinch of celebrity parent. Season with some work, life and children. And bake for 40 minutes. This week, Kevin joins Allegra Benitah, also known as celebrity baker Challah Mummy, in her kitchen, for a cup of tea and a taste of Challah. The daughter of TV and...

Why are there so many lawyers in parliament? Because lawyers are articulate? They understand the law? Have had varied life and professional experience? Are confident public speakers? Our latest guest has all of these attributes and more. In episode 26, Kevin sits down with the Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, where they discuss Britain’s political culture, character education, equality and breaking glass...

When Laura King hired Tiernan Brady to champion diversity and inclusion at Clifford Chance, she hired a campaigning rockstar. With stadium-sized successes under his belt in the marriage equality referendums in Ireland and Australia, Tiernan came with an enviable reputation and a work ethic to match. And, as one of the first female partners at Clifford Chance, Laura has already lead the charge for...

When Extinction Rebellion took over Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge, they were doing so in the clean air of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone. And for that, they have Anna Heslop and the work of ClientEarth to thank. You see, while some take direct action in pursuit of preserving our small blue dot, others (like Anna) use the law – working with lawmakers, governments and manufacturers to help pro...

Naming no names, which host of a well-known legal podcast was recently seen disappearing through a suspicious-looking black door in London's seedy Soho? We'd hate to start scurrilous rumours, but our secret sources tell us that this natty dressing, spec wearing, Yorkshire Tea drinker was heard discussing all manner of smut, celebrity gossip, the Leveson Inquiry, super-injunctions, defamation, copy...

This week's episode is a matter of life and death. It's bursting with Shauneen Lambe's stories of youth, activism and rebellion; and includes dark tales from Belizean death camps and death row in America's Deep South. No two journeys through a career in law are the same, but this one will stand out even if you're a dedicated listener. Shauneen has clearly found her calling in her multifaceted purs...

The Hearing is back. And it's back with a great big Brexit bang. Amongst the din and clatter of the chaos that has encapsulated the country, several key figures have emerged. Dominic Grieve QC is one of them. Persona non-grata for most of his own party; a hero to millions of petition-signing Remainers. This is what The Hearing does best. Join Kevin and Dominic as they put the world to right – or w...

It's 1994 and a bespectacled pre-pubescent Yorkshire lad unpeels the wrapping from the new CD by Blur. He carefully places it in his mini-HiFi and presses play. PARKLIFE! Giddy with excitement, he picks up a couple of biros and tries to keep pace with the beat on his yellow legal notepad. Fast forward 25 years and that same lad, our Kevin, is sitting across the table from the man who cracks out th...

Cannibals. Terrorists. Serial killers. Movie stars. Megastars. Musicians. Meet the person who's been in court with them all. This episode's guest is courtroom artist Priscilla Coleman. She's the public's eyes in court, and she does it all from memory. Say 'howdy' to the Texan who spends more time at the Old Bailey than hardened criminals. Court can be weird and wonderful, and Priscilla's sketches...

Two giants of the feminist movement, one chatterbox host, and just 30 minutes to cover a lot of ground. Dear listeners, we're sorry. This week, time is not our friend. Institutionalised discrimination, media giants, failing global icons, Trump, and the gender pay gap are just a few of the small (yeah right) topics that Kevin, Catherine Mayer and Ann Olivarius cram in. It's almost too much for one...

In the movie "When Harry met Sally", there's that famous scene in the coffee shop. "When Kevin met Millie" is definitely a less racy affair. But it's not one that holds back on the positive vibes. Set backstage at the Women in Law conference (where she was a keynote speaker) Millicent Grant sits across the coffee shop table from our Kevin to talk about the power of saying "yes", and how her positi...

Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear gowns. Few guests on The Hearing could legitimately claim to be a lifesaver. But in episode 16, Kevin meets a man who is precisely that. S Chelvan stands as a reminder of why those who work in the law got into it in the first place. Uphold justice. Protect the innocent. Change lives. Personal, thought-provoking, honest and blunt, Chelvan takes Kevin thr...

'Kids from council estates don't go to university and don't become lawyers.' When Barry Matthews sat down with his careers adviser at 17 and said he wanted to study law, that's exactly the response he got. Now ITV's top lawyer, Barry is determined to kill off this stereotype. Barry's modest beginnings have been the driving force behind the Social Mobility Business Partnership. SMBP has provided wo...