Richard Harris

Richard Harris was a nineteenth-century British barrister and author whose work moved between legal manuals, fiction, and satire. Contemporary reference listings identify him as a barrister and author, and also note that he wrote under the pseudonym Benedick Whipem.

He is especially associated with Hints on Advocacy, a practical book on courtroom method, witness examination, and trial conduct that remained well known after its first publication. He also wrote The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit, a comic novel that draws on the absurdities and frustrations of the legal system, along with novels such as New Nobility and Mayfair to Millbank.

Taken together, his books suggest a writer who knew the law from the inside and could explain it in a way that was useful, entertaining, and often slyly funny. That combination makes his work appealing not only as legal history, but also as a vivid glimpse of Victorian professional and social life.