Law, legal affairs and government policy, without the fog

Top Lawyer is a working journal for people who need to understand a legal system they did not design. We cover five beats: practical legal advice, law and courts news, political updates, government policy and the justice system. Every guide explains the rule, the deadline and the trade-off in plain English, so you can decide whether to act, wait or call a lawyer.

How we report and check

We start with primary sources: statutes, court opinions, agency rules, bar guidance and public records. We read the amendment text rather than the press release, and we separate what a court decided from what a commentator hopes it means. Each article carries a publish date and a last-updated date, and we note material corrections on the page.

We are not a law firm and this site is not legal advice. What we can do is make you a better client and a better voter: able to ask sharper questions, spot the expensive mistakes and judge whether the advice you are getting is worth the fee. Use the sections below to browse, or open the search box and type a topic.