Michael Lawrence Saunders, CB, QC (13 April 1944 – 17 December 1996) was a British lawyer and public servant.

Education and early career

Saunders attended

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

, before completing an undergraduate law degree at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and then the postgraduate

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He was third secretary (1966–68) and then second secretary (1968–72) to the

Hague Conference on Private International Law The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental organisation in the area of private international law (also known as ''conflict of laws''), that administers several international conventions, protocols and soft ...

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1971, he joined the Department of Trade and Industry the following year as a senior legal assistant."Saunders, Michael Lawrence"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 4 January 2019."Michael Saunders", ''The Times'', 19 December 1996, p. 19.

Career

The experience at the Hague Conference gave Saunders a detailed working knowledge of

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, which was valued by the ministers he advised. He spent periods in the

Treasury Solicitor's Department The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office go ...

and the Law Officers' Department, before he was appointed an Assistant Treasury Solicitor in 1979. He returned to the Law Officers' Department four years later and served as its Legal Adviser between 1986 and 1989, when he became Solicitor to

HM Revenue and Customs HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...

. In 1992, he became Legal Adviser to the Home Office, his final appointment before promotion to

HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office g ...

in 1995; he was the first appointed to the latter office following open competition. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' remarked that "The mid-1990s at the Home Office were a less happy time ... it is open to conjecture that aundersdid not, after, 1993 find the present

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

nowiki/>Michael Howard">Michael_Howard.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Michael Howard">nowiki/>Michael Howardthe most congenial of ministers to advise on law. The entanglement of [Howard] with the judiciary – especially over the legislation on compensation for victims of crimes of violence – was the product of a minister (himself a QC) not listening to his legal adviser". Saunders died on 17 December 1996, after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, the year after his promotion to Treasury Solicitor; his obituary in ''The Times'' recorded an "outstanding career" as a legal adviser to ministers. He had been appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1990, and had taken silk in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Michael 1944 births 1996 deaths 20th-century English lawyers Treasury Solicitors Members of Gray's Inn Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge