The start of January is depressing, let’s face it, with so much cash spent in December and still weeks to go until the next payday. But when there are no readies in the wallet to fund a pleasant night in the pub, what better way to spend cold and dull evenings at this time of year than with a lovely legal-themed DVD box set? Obiter has thoughtfully secured five copies of the first series of Law & Order: UK, out on 11 January, for lucky readers. The gritty drama, which closely follows the hugely popular US show – the longest running prime-time drama on American telly – follows crime from the streets of London to the courtroom. The first part of each episode focuses on the police and the second on the lawyers. Stars include Freema Agyeman (once sidekick to a certain timelord) who plays a ‘strong-willed young prose-cutor’; Ben Daniels from The State Within as a senior crown prosecutor; and Bill Patterson from Criminal Justice as a CPS director ‘trying to balance his ideals with the bigger picture’. Vis-à-vis plod, Bradley Walsh from Coronation Street plays a ‘real East End copper’s copper’, while Jamie Bamber of Battlestar Galactica fame is his charming partner.

To win a copy, send your answer to the question ‘I think I should star in my own TV legal drama because…’ to obiter@lawsociety.org.uk. The five answers which make Obiter chuckle most will receive the complete first series. For anyone who misses out this time, fear not – a competition for copies of series two will be appearing next month.