After two years’ waiting, the BBC crime thriller Line of Duty returns to our screens this weekend, with the AC-12 team once again on the hunt for bent coppers.

Aside from police officers, the other profession that has tended to be portrayed in a bad light is solicitors.

The last series, in particular, had the legal twitterati up in arms as they were either greedy corporate lawyers, sinister criminal defence types, or lazy duty solicitors.

The final one of those characters (described by one article as the ‘world’s worst solicitor’) infamously fell asleep while his client was being grilled over potential murder charges, prompting the interviewing officer to advise: ‘Michael, there are other solicitors – better ones.’

Obiter looks forward to what writer Jed Mercurio has in store for lawyers in the coming series. We can safely assume a flustered suspect will at some point refuse to talk without their solicitor present. Let’s hope they’ll stay awake this time.

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