Aamer Anwar has never been one to back away from a fight.
In the first episode of The Firm: Fighting the System on BBC Scotland we meet the formidable lawyer as he and his team dive into two powerful cases that expose cracks in the foundations of justice in Scotland.
At the heart of the episode is the haunting case of Emma Caldwell, a young woman murdered two decades ago.
Her killer, Iain Packer, was finally convicted in 2024 after years of evading justice.
But the question that looms over the series is why it took so long.
Emma’s mother, Margaret Caldwell, stands shoulder to shoulder with Aamer as they demand answers.
They are calling for a Public Inquiry to expose what went wrong and how a known predator was allowed to roam free.
The allegations of police failings by Strathclyde Police are deeply troubling.
Whether the Scottish Government will heed the call for a full inquiry remains uncertain, but the pressure is mounting.
Aamer knows what it means to take on the establishment.
In a powerful flashback, he remembers his first major legal battle defending Thomas ‘TC’ Campbell, who was wrongfully convicted of the infamous ‘Ice Cream Wars’ murders in Glasgow.
Fresh out of law school, Aamer fought tirelessly to clear Campbell’s name.
The conviction was finally quashed in 2004, marking one of the most significant miscarriages of justice in Scottish legal history.
This episode reminds us that justice is not just about the courtroom, but about courage, perseverance and belief in doing what is right.
The firm’s work doesn’t stop at historic cases.
In the Immigration and Asylum Department, lawyer Denize Okan is tackling another kind of injustice, one that rarely makes headlines.
Her client, a Ghanaian man who came to work in the UK, was subjected to appalling conditions on a fishing boat.
Now, after being exploited and cast aside, he faces deportation.
Denize is fighting to keep him in the UK, where he has built a life and found a sense of dignity.
Through every scene, the series reveals the human side of the law.
The struggles, the frustrations and the small, hard-won victories that come from standing up for those who have no one else.
It’s a compelling portrait of a law firm that refuses to play it safe.
Instead, they fight — for justice, for truth and for the people failed by the system.
The Firm: Fighting the System airs Tuesday 17 June at 9pm on BBC Scotland.
