Why Do British Lawyers Wear Wigs?
Why on earth do British lawyers wear those wigs?
Growing up as a kid, I was always very skeptical about this and I had assumed that it was just a television thing. This may be unfamiliar to a lot of people but it’s definitely familiar if you live in a Commonwealth country. The UK is the most well known for this. In the legal system, the formal courtroom attire for people who are practitioners of the law includes these incredibly anachronistic wigs.
The thing with these wigs is that they are thought by the proponents of the practice to impart an air of formality and an emblem of anonymity. They distance the wearer from personal involvement and they visually draw on the supremacy of the law. This is according to a guy named Kevin Newton, a DC-based lawyer who studied law at the University of London.
These headpieces are called peruke.
Peruke is an archaic term for a Perry wig, which is a highly styled wig, and that used to be worn by both men and women.
So, there are barristers, solicitors, and judges. A barrister can be distinguished from a solicitor because they wear a wig and a gown in court. They also work at higher levels than solicitors. Their main role is to act as advocates in legal hearings. So they plead cases on behalf of their clients to a…
