The Pleader

Len Murray, described by a High Court judge as the most respected pleader of his generation, practised as a solicitor in Glasgow for over 40 years. As part of a triumvirate of top lawyers based in the city during its period of renaissance, he built up one of the most respected law practices in the country. Among the benchmark cases with which Murray was involved was that of Tony Miller, the last person ever to be hanged in Scotland. Despite a desperate appeal by Murray, the 19-year-old was sent to his death on 22 December 1960. In his account Murray describes both the legal arguments and the personal effect the case had on him. Murray was also involved in bringing the Nazi war criminal Anton Gecas to justice after his discovery in Edinburgh, he was the only solicitor ever to be retained by both Rangers and Celtic footballers who were accused of assaulting each other at Ibrox during a match, and he made a cheeky defence of famous Beatle Paul McCartney who was arrested on drugs charges. In this text he recounts these and many more tales of the courts and the characters who inhabited them, whether they sat on the bench or stood in the dock.