The Firm 2 review: Is this the real Aamer Anwar? I think it is
***
At the start of this new docu-series about the life and work of the lawyer Aamer Anwar, the man himself says to someone off camera: 'It's almost like a Line of Duty episode.'
I have no idea why he says that because nothing here is like a Line of Duty episode, unless you count Anwar's affection for Martin Compston-style waistcoats.
The second series is a world away from the first. Where that was a tonally bizarre mix of the serious and the silly, the new run plays it straight down the line. Cheerio to Sex and the City and Suits, hello The Handmaid's Tale and Panorama.
But is it better for it? It is certainly shorter. As a stark illustration of its slimmed-down self, The Firm has gone from eight episodes to three.
Series two brings together some of the high-profile cases Aamer Anwar & Co have dealt with in recent years, including the death in police custody of Sheku Bayoh. Other cases include Margaret Caldwell's fight for an inquiry into the handling of her daughter Emma's murder investigation, and the deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay in Polmont Young Offenders Institute.
Read more
It is impossible to imagine what these families have been through, but The Firm fills in some of the details with care and compassion. Sometimes it's the little things that speak loudest, like Katie's mum bringing the dog with her into meetings. It's a comfort to her to have the dog there, but would other firms be so understanding?
The same point about small details applies to Anwar himself. Last time, he was a flash lawyer about town, stopping off at his tailors to order new suits, or slo-mo walking to the office like some pop star in a video. Here he rocks up to Margaret Caldwell's door with an inside out Sainsbury's carrier bag in place of a briefcase. She welcomes him in (as does the dog, Teddy) like he's one of the family. You can't fake that level of closeness.
Likewise the moments when emotions are running high and only a hug will do. There is no such thing as 'good news' in this corner of the law. None of the families featured want to be in this position. But there is a sense of pride in standing up for those no longer here, and that comes across loud and clear.
Besides the families and Anwar we hear from a much wider spectrum of contributors, from a former detective who worked on the Emma Caldwell investigation, to academics. There is a long look, too, at the work of the asylum and immigration department. The new faces bring a much-needed sense of freshness to otherwise familiar material, much of it taken from news bulletins.
Another big change from the first series: we don't hear from the junior members of staff. They appear in meetings and at court, but not a peep is heard. That's a real pity. I'd hate to think they were paying the price for some of the dafter editorial decisions in series one.
By and large, this new series gets the balance right between personal and legal, and is more sombre for it. Will there be a third series? I'd say the odds were against, not least because the law works so slowly it will be a long time before there is something new to say, but who knows? By that time, the juniors here might be running a firm of their own.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ryan Lochte's wife breaks cover after divorce news as Olympian shares emotional post on daughter's birthday
Ryan Lochte 's estranged wife Kayla Reid was spotted on Monday as the now-former couple prepared to celebrate their daughter's birthday. Earlier this month, Kayla announced the 'painful' divorce from the Olympic swimmer, referencing 'trials we didn't choose or see coming' without mentioning other details. Lochte, for his part, said he was 'deeply grateful for the life we've built together' and committed to co-parenting their three children together. And ahead of their daughter Liv's sixth birthday, Kayla was spotted in public getting ready for the special day as she pushed a No. 6 balloon in a shopping cart. Kayla, who had also appeared to pick up a cake for Liv, chatted on the phone as she was photographed. A day later, Lochte took to Instagram to celebrate Liv as she celebrated her sixth birthday. I may not have all the answers, but I'm the dad who will love you more than words can express,' he wrote on Tuesday. 'I'll be your rock, your confidant, and your biggest fan. Through every up and down, I'll be here for you, loving and supporting you with all my heart. 'You'll always be my little girl, and I promise to cherish, support, and love you, no matter what, forever and always. Happy Birthday 6th birthday princess. Love always and forever your Dad #birthdaygirl #wrappedaroundherfinger.' Shortly after the news of the couple's divorce became public, Kayla took her children to Las Vegas for a fun weekend. The trip celebrated the eighth birthday of Kayla and Ryan's son Caiden, while Liv and their 23-month-old daughter Georgia were also brought on the trip by their mother. Kayla's petition for divorce, filed in north central Florida's Alachua County, asked the court for 'sole parenting responsibility' or at least 'ultimate decision-making authority' and 'majority timesharing,' Daily Mail previously reported. 'Wife is fit and proper to assume sole parental responsibility for the minor children of the parties. Shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the children,' her lawyers wrote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte) However, Lochte responded by insisting it was in the best interests of Caiden, Liv and Georgia for their parents to share custody. Kayla also mentioned in her filing that their union was 'irretrievably broken.' The gold medalist swimmer and former Playboy Playmate tied the knot in Palm Springs, California, in January 2018, after previously going public with their relationship in 2016. However, Lochte has faced his share of personal issues since. In 2018, he was suspended 14 months from swimming for a prohibited IV infusion, and also spent six weeks in rehab for alcoholism. Following an incident at a hotel in California, in which police were called on Lochte after he tried to kick his door in (no arrests were made), his attorney said he had been battling alcohol addiction for 'many years.' Lochte later said his stint in rehab had made him a 'better man.' 'I'm glad that I went to rehab and got checked out just because it helped me out,' thw swimmer said. 'It helped put things in perspective in my life. What is really more important than going out to a bar and getting hammered or doing anything like that, I go home and I get to play with my kids and kiss and hold my wife. That, to me, is everything.' As he was returning to the sport in 2019, he said that it was his 'second priority' behind his family. He was also thrust into controversy during the 2016 Rio Games, after he claimed that he and three teammates were robbed at gunpoint after a night out. It was later revealed that the armed men were actually security guards and several details of Lochte's story proved to be fabricated. He was ultimately charged with submitting a false report to police, but charges were later dismissed after he apologized. Following Kayla's announcement that she had filed for divorce, he also broke his silence on social media. 'Although this decision hasn't been easy, I believe it's the right step toward peace and well-being for us both,' he said. 'I remain committed to healing, growth, and co-parenting with care and respect as we move forward separately.' Kayla had said: 'I made the hard decision to end my marriage after deep prayer and reflection,' she wrote on Instagram. 'I hold marriage in the highest regard, so this has been one of the most painful, revealing, and challenging seasons of my life. 'I've been hesitant to share until I could do so from a place of healing – not from fresh, open wounds.'
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
The Firm 2 review: Is this the real Aamer Anwar? I think it is
*** At the start of this new docu-series about the life and work of the lawyer Aamer Anwar, the man himself says to someone off camera: 'It's almost like a Line of Duty episode.' I have no idea why he says that because nothing here is like a Line of Duty episode, unless you count Anwar's affection for Martin Compston-style waistcoats. The second series is a world away from the first. Where that was a tonally bizarre mix of the serious and the silly, the new run plays it straight down the line. Cheerio to Sex and the City and Suits, hello The Handmaid's Tale and Panorama. But is it better for it? It is certainly shorter. As a stark illustration of its slimmed-down self, The Firm has gone from eight episodes to three. Series two brings together some of the high-profile cases Aamer Anwar & Co have dealt with in recent years, including the death in police custody of Sheku Bayoh. Other cases include Margaret Caldwell's fight for an inquiry into the handling of her daughter Emma's murder investigation, and the deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay in Polmont Young Offenders Institute. Read more It is impossible to imagine what these families have been through, but The Firm fills in some of the details with care and compassion. Sometimes it's the little things that speak loudest, like Katie's mum bringing the dog with her into meetings. It's a comfort to her to have the dog there, but would other firms be so understanding? The same point about small details applies to Anwar himself. Last time, he was a flash lawyer about town, stopping off at his tailors to order new suits, or slo-mo walking to the office like some pop star in a video. Here he rocks up to Margaret Caldwell's door with an inside out Sainsbury's carrier bag in place of a briefcase. She welcomes him in (as does the dog, Teddy) like he's one of the family. You can't fake that level of closeness. Likewise the moments when emotions are running high and only a hug will do. There is no such thing as 'good news' in this corner of the law. None of the families featured want to be in this position. But there is a sense of pride in standing up for those no longer here, and that comes across loud and clear. Besides the families and Anwar we hear from a much wider spectrum of contributors, from a former detective who worked on the Emma Caldwell investigation, to academics. There is a long look, too, at the work of the asylum and immigration department. The new faces bring a much-needed sense of freshness to otherwise familiar material, much of it taken from news bulletins. Another big change from the first series: we don't hear from the junior members of staff. They appear in meetings and at court, but not a peep is heard. That's a real pity. I'd hate to think they were paying the price for some of the dafter editorial decisions in series one. By and large, this new series gets the balance right between personal and legal, and is more sombre for it. Will there be a third series? I'd say the odds were against, not least because the law works so slowly it will be a long time before there is something new to say, but who knows? By that time, the juniors here might be running a firm of their own.
The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Aamer Anwar, The Firm: Tin hats on, here comes new series
As The Herald's TV critic, I was unimpressed. My chief beef: its attempt to blend a serious look at real cases with a light-hearted take on office life, including slo-mo shots of women's shoes. Produced by STV Studios Factual for BBC Scotland, a second series starts this week. I'd heard Anwar wasn't happy with my review of the first season, so I ask for an interview. After some to and fro - 'I had to think about it,' he says - here we are in his Blythswood Square offices. His desk is full of photos, thank you cards, other bits and bobs, including a joke button that says 'BULL****'. At the back of the room are unopened boxes marked 'Hollywood Mirrors'. He said yes to a second series because several of the cases he had been pursuing for years were coming to fruition, and he wanted to show the effect lengthy legal battles have on relatives. 'You get a 30-second soundbite on the news,' he says. 'Nobody gets to see the misery, the pain, the toll it takes on families.' There was the chance, too, to counter some of the assumptions made about him. Just that morning, he says, someone had called him an 'ambulance chaser'. He rejects the accusation, referencing the clients and cases he has worked on as he goes. 'You don't make money out of fighting for Margaret Caldwell for 10 years for free. The Sheku Bayoh family, seven years without funding. Surjit Singh Chhokhar, 18 years without funding.' He says 70% of his work outside the courtroom is pro bono, and it's the firm's other work that pays the bills. Anwar's own story is well known. Born in Liverpool, dad a bus driver, mother had various jobs, one sister. Went to Glasgow University where he discovered law, politics and campaigning. Took a battering from police, sued the cops and won. More cases followed, each more high-profile than the next. We turn to the review. At first he brushes it off. 'Journalists write what they want about me, that's fair enough. It doesn't impact. Most people liked the series.' But then he warms to his theme. And how. 'I did think it was … unfair. I was sitting in London when it came out, with my senior counsel, probably one of the finest advocates this country has ever produced, Dr Claire Mitchell, King's Counsel, the one who wrote the book about the witches just recently. She's questioned Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak. My counsel looked at her, then she flipped her shoes and went, 'I'm wearing bloody Louboutins. What, are we women not allowed to wear what we want to wear?' And for a woman to criticise young women in this office who like the way they dress …' I try to jump in several times to challenge what he is saying, but without success. I'm getting everything bar the kitchen sink thrown at me and there is no way to stop the barrage. It is quite impressive in its way. I could probably leave the office, saunter round the block, and he would still be talking when I returned. What strikes me is how quickly he went from 0-90 on the outrage scale and back again as if nothing had happened. He is 57 now, the hair more salt than pepper. He looks well. The suits help, and sessions at the gym. His three children, his partner, pals, exercise - these are what helped him through a breakdown a few years ago. Work was the obvious culprit, but the root cause lay in his childhood. At home, dad 'ruled with a rod of iron'. School was no refuge because this was the 1970s and racism was rife. He felt powerless, angry, but what to do with all that rage? Like many of his generation he told himself to suck it up, just keep going, but then he could take no more. Dad has now passed, his last years lost to dementia. 'The best thing I ever did was learn to forgive him because that gave me a sense of peace. The sad part is I never asked what happened to him. What made him the person he was.' Mum is still adjusting to life without her husband of 58 years. She is a huge figure in her son's life, not least because she does his books. I ask if she gives him a discount. 'She gives me a row,' he laughs. If his mum hadn't taken over his personal finances it would be 'haywire'. Though it does mean he has to ask her for money. 'Everybody's like, how old are you?' Our scrapping done, we're talking about the second series and footage of him as a young firebrand. If he could go back and have a word with that Aamer, what would he say? 'I would probably say shouting and screaming puts people off. You need to have evidence, you need to plan it more. If I'd carried on in that vein I probably would have ended up dead or in a jail cell. I had to channel that anger. That anger is still there and it comes back.' Two women have appeared in the outer office. 'I probably should introduce you to Rebecca and Shelby, who are the girls in the Louboutins,' says Anwar. Shelby says she had the review as her Twitter picture. Rebecca adds: 'It's just shoes isn't it? There are more important things.' We could have done with this two-woman UN peacekeeping force a while ago. 'I'm sorry if you were offended,' I say. 'It's okay,' says Rebecca. 'It's your job, it's my shoes. You can borrow them if you like.' How we laugh. 'They don't take any s***,' says a beaming Anwar. An example to us all, whatever our footwear. The Firm, 9pm, June 17, BBC Scotland. All episodes on iPlayer the same day.
