Studio Lambert has optioned Nicola Williams’ legal thriller, Without Prejudice.
The novel follows Lee Mitchell, a thirty-year-old barrister from a working-class Caribbean background, as she takes on the biggest case of her career.
Susan Hogg, Head of Drama for Studio Lambert, says: “Having served for many years as a Criminal Barrister and currently as a Crown Court Judge, Nicola is uniquely placed to bring a thrilling authenticity to her observations of the Criminal Justice System.”
Without Prejudice follows Lee as she navigates a complicated friendship with an old school friend who is brutally attacked. Lee is called as a witness for the defence and experiences, up close, the ordeal of a rape trial that leaves her friend in search of her own savage justice. Lee meanwhile, is given a high profile case, defending a millionaire playboy accused of corruption. If Lee can get him off, she’s made. But as she’s pulled into his toxic orbit, Lee starts to realise the danger she’s in. Can she find a way to fight against the power and money that controls us all, for herself and for the friend she was made to betray?
Two new books in the series have been acquired by Hamish Hamilton, which will pull Lee into further challenging and complex cases, drawing on aspects of Nicola’s own experience as a barrister. The Advocate’s Devil will be published in Spring 202.
Rebecca Watson of Valerie Hoskins Associates negotiated the deal on behalf of Jonathan Ruppin of The Ruppin Agency & Writers’ Studio.
Jon Creamer
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