Litigation is like war, BabyBarista. Read this and learn. It's BabyBarista's first day as a pupil barrister in chambers. Never mind his legal qualifications; it's his summer working in Starbucks that's going to stand him in good stead, since coffee-making seems to be his chief responsibility (with the odd bout of photocopying to relieve the tedium). He's got one year to make his mark and prove by foul means or fair that, out of the four pupil barristers, he's the one who deserves to stay on and win the sought-after prize of a tenancy in chambers. It's sort of like Big Brother, but with little horsehair wigs. Once assigned to a pupilmaster, an oily character he calls TheBoss, BabyB retreats to his tiny desk in a dusty corner to consider the competition: TopFirst, a Cambridge graduate with a prizewinning CV and an ego to match; BusyBody, a human whirlwind on a husband hunt; and finally wide-eyed Worrier, who carries the world on her anxious shoulders. 'If you know the enemy and...

BabyBarista may have won the battle for tenancy, but the war has just begun. In his pupilage year, BabyBarista learned the hard way that dirty tricks and a faulty moral compass are essential items in a young lawyer's briefcase. Now, as the newest tenant in chambers, he must face down old enemies, try to win compensation for a group of ASBO-attracting pensioners, and unravel the complicated knots of his love life - not to mention his mother's finances. Under the wise and watchful eye of OldRuin, BabyBarista tries to keep his nose (and his wig) clean, but when SlipperySlope, an unscrupulous solicitor offers him a quick way out of his financial difficulties he soon becomes embroiled in blackmail, dodgy share-dealing and the dark arts of litigation. With his old adversary, TopFirst out for revenge, and the chance to be awarded a coveted 'red bag' at stake, BabyB must use all the tricks of his trade to extricate himself from his legal quagmire, win the case for his mad old clients,...