A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

s at the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, thus the Serjeants are said to be the oldest formally created order in England. The order rose during the 16th century as a small, elite group of lawyers who took much of the work in the central common law courts. With the creation of

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

(or "Queen's Counsel Extraordinary") during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, the order gradually began to decline, with each monarch opting to create more King's or Queen's Counsel. The Serjeants' exclusive jurisdictions were ended during the 19th century and, with the

Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...

coming into force in 1875, it was felt that there was no need to have such figures, and no more were created. The last appointed was

Nathaniel Lindley Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, (29 November 1828 – 9 December 1921) was an English judge. Early life He was the second son of the botanist Dr. John Lindley, born at Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was descended from Sir Edw ...

, later a Law Lord, who retired in 1905 and died in 1921. The number of Irish Serjeants-at-law was limited to three (originally one, later two). The last appointment was A. M. Sullivan in 1912; after his 1921 relocation to the English bar he remained "Serjeant Sullivan" as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

. The Serjeants had for many centuries exclusive jurisdiction over the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, being the only lawyers allowed to argue a case there. At the same time they had rights of audience in the other central common law courts (the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

and Exchequer of Pleas) and precedence over all other lawyers. Only Serjeants-at-Law could become judges of these courts until the 19th century, and socially the Serjeants ranked above

Knights Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

and Companions of the Bath. Within the Serjeants-at-Law were distinct orders: the King's Serjeants, particularly favoured Serjeants-at-Law, and within that the King's Premier Serjeant, the Monarch's most favoured Serjeant, and the King's Ancient Serjeant, the oldest. Serjeants (except King's Serjeants) were created by

Writ of Summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

under the

Great Seal of the Realm The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom (known prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707 as the Great Seal of England; and from then until the Union of 1801 as the Great Seal of Great Britain) is a seal that is used to sym ...

and wore a distinctive dress, the chief feature of which was the

coif A coif () is a close fitting cap worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head. History Coifs date from the 10th century, but fell out of popularity with men in the 14th century."A New Look for Women." Arts and H ...

, a white

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...

or silk

skullcap Skullcap or skull cap usually refers to various types of headgear. Specifically it may refer to: Headwear * Beanie (seamed cap) * Biretta, forming part of some clerical, academic or legal dress * Calotte (Belgium), a skullcap worn by students at ...

, afterwards represented by a round piece of white lace at the top of the

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

. Although the Serjeants are extinct as a class of advocates, the title ''The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall'' is still given to the judge generally known as the

Common Serjeant of London The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...

History

Early history

The history of Serjeants-at-Law goes back to within a century of the

; Alexander Pulling argues that Serjeants-at-Law existed "before any large portion of our law was formed", and Edward Warren agrees that they existed (in Normandy), supporting him with a Norman writ from approximately 1300 which identifies Serjeants-at-Law as directly descending from Norman ''conteurs''; indeed, they were sometimes known as Serjeant-Conteurs. The members of the Order initially used

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

as their meeting place, standing near the "

parvis A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or a ...

" where they would give counsel to those who sought advice.

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

makes reference to the Serjeants in the ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus' ...

'',

General Prologue The General Prologue is the first part of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It introduces the frame story, in which a group of pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury agree to take part in a storytelling com ...

, writing:

A serjeant of the law, ware and wise,
That often hadde ben at the parvis,
Ther was also, full rich of excellence.
Discreet he was and of great reverence,
He sened swiche; his wordes were so wise,
Justice he was ful often in assise,
By patent, and by pleine commissiun;
For his science, and for his high renoun,
Of fees and robes had he many on.

Firm evidence for existence of legal serjeants in England dates from the reign of Henry III. As such it is the oldest royally created order; the next is the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

, created in 1330. Serjeants at Law existed in Ireland from at least 1302, and were appointed by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

Henry de Bracton Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henricus Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton (c. 1210 – c. 1268) was an English cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particularly ''De legibus et consuetudinibus ...

claimed that, for the trial of

Hubert de Burgh Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Justiciar, Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John, King of England, John and of his son and successor Kin ...

in 1239 the king was assisted by "all the serjeants of the bench", although it is not known who they were. By the 1270s there were approximately 20 recorded Serjeants; by 1290, 36. This period also saw the first regulation of Serjeants, with a statutory power from 1275 to suspend from practise any Serjeant who misbehaved (enacted as chapter 29 of the

Statute of Westminster 1275 The Statute of Westminster of 1275 (3 Edw. I), also known as the Statute of Westminster I, codified the existing law in England, into 51 chapters. Only Chapter 5 (which mandates free elections) is still in force in the United Kingdom, whilst par ...

). The exclusive jurisdiction Serjeants-at-Law held over the

slowly came about during the 1320s, squeezing the size of the bar until only a consistent group reappeared. From this period, Serjeants also began to be called in regular groups, rather than individually on whatever date was felt appropriate.

Rise

During the 16th century the Serjeants-at-Law were a small, though highly respected and powerful, elite. There were never more than ten alive, and on several occasions the number dwindled to one;

William Blendlowes William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

bragged that he had been "the only Serjeant-at-Law in England" in 1559. Over these 100 years, only 89 Serjeants were created. At the time they were the only clearly distinguishable branch of the legal profession, and it is thought that their work may have actually created

s as a separate group; although Serjeants were the only lawyers who normally argued in court, they occasionally allowed other lawyers to help them in special cases. These lawyers became known as outer or "utter" barristers (because they were confined to the outer bar of the court); if they were allowed to act they had "passed the bar" towards becoming a Serjeant-at-Law. Despite holding a monopoly on cases in the

, Serjeants also took most of the business in the

. Although required to make the Common Pleas their principal place of work, there is evidence of Serjeants who did not; one, Robert Mennell, worked entirely in the North of England after his creation in 1547 and was not known in Westminster, where the Common Pleas was located. This was also a time of great judicial success for the Serjeants; since only Serjeants could be appointed to the common law courts, many also sat in the Exchequer of Pleas, a court of equity. This period was not a time of success for the profession overall, however, despite the brisk business being done. The rise of central courts other than the Common Pleas allowed other lawyers to gain advocacy experience and work, drawing it away from the Serjeants, and at the same time the few Serjeants could not handle all the business in the Common Pleas, allowing the rise of barristers as dedicated advocates.

Decline and abolition

The decline of the Serjeants-at-Law started in 1596, when

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

persuaded

to appoint him "Queen's Counsel Extraordinary" (QC), a new creation which gave him precedence over the Serjeants. This was not a formal creation, in that he was not granted a patent of appointment, but in 1604

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

saw fit to finally award this. The creation of Queen's (or King's) Counsel was initially small; James I created at least one other, and

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

four. Following the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

this increased, with a few appointed each year. The largest change came about with

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

, who appointed an average of nine a year, and following him approximately 12 were created a year, with an average of 245 at any one time. Every new Queen's Counsel created reduced the Serjeants in importance, since even the most junior QC took precedence over the most senior Serjeant. Although appointments were still made to the Serjeants-at-Law, the King's Serjeant and the King's Ancient Serjeant, and several Serjeants were granted patents of precedence which gave them superiority over QCs, the Victorian era saw a decline in appointments. The rule that all common law judges must be Serjeants was circumvented: anyone chosen to be a judge would be appointed a Serjeant, and immediately thereafter a judge. In 1834

Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

issued a mandate which opened up pleading in the

to every

, Serjeant or not, and this was followed for six years until the Serjeants successfully petitioned the Queen to overturn it as invalid. The Serjeants only enjoyed their returned status for another six years, however, before Parliament intervened. The

Practitioners in Common Pleas Act 1846 Practitioner may refer to: *Health practitioner *Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner * Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner *Theatre practitioner Spiritual Practitioner * Solitary practitioner ...

, from 18 August 1846, allowed all barristers to practise in the Court of Common Pleas. The next and final blow was the

, which came into force on 1 November 1875. Section 8 provided that common law judges need no longer be appointed from the Serjeants-at-Law, removing the need to appoint judicial Serjeants. With this Act and the rise of the Queen's Counsel, there was no longer any need to appoint Serjeants, and the practice ended. The equivalent Irish rank of

Serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

survived until 1919.

Alexander Sullivan Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, the last Irish serjeant, spent the second half of his career at the English Bar, and as a matter of courtesy was always addressed as Serjeant.

Organisation

Serjeant's Inn

Serjeant's Inn was a legal inn restricted to Serjeants-at-Law. It operated from three locations, one in Holborn, known as Scroope's Inn, which was abandoned by 1498 for the one in Fleet Street, which was pulled down during the 18th century, and one on Chancery Lane, pulled down in 1877. The Inn was a voluntary association, and although most Serjeants joined upon being appointed they were not required to. There were rarely more than 40 Serjeants, even including members of the judiciary, and the Inns were noticeably smaller than the Inns of Court. Unlike the Inns of Court, Serjeant's Inn was a private establishment similar to a gentlemen's club. The Inn on Fleet Street existed from at least 1443, when it was rented from the Dean of York. By the 16th century it had become the main Inn, before being burnt down during the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

. It was rebuilt by 1670, but the end finally came in 1733. The Fleet Street Inn had fallen into a "ruinous state", and the Serjeants had been unable to obtain a renewal of their lease. They abandoned the property, and it returned to the Dean. The property on Chancery Lane consisted of a Hall, dining room, a library, kitchens and offices for the Serjeants-at-Law. This Inn was originally known as "Skarle's Inn" from about 1390, named after

John Scarle John Scarle was keeper of the rolls of Chancery from 1394 to 1397 and Archdeacon of Lincoln before being named Lord Chancellor of England in 1399. He held that office until 9 March 1401.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 85 He was also ...

, who became

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

in 1394. By 1404 it was known as "Farringdon's Inn", but although the Serjeants were in full possession by 1416 it was not until 1484 that the property became known as Serjeant's Inn. Newly promoted Serjeants had to pay £350 in the 19th century, while those promoted solely to take up judicial office had to pay £500. The Hall was a large room hung with portraits of various famous judges and Serjeants-at-Law, with three windows on one side each containing the coat of arms of a distinguished judge. Around the room were the coats of arms of various Serjeants, which were given to their descendants when the Inn was finally sold. When the Fleet Street Inn was abandoned, this location became the sole residence of the Serjeants. With the demise of the order after the

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...

, there was no way to support the Inn, and it was sold in 1877 for £57,100. The remaining Serjeants were accepted into their former

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

, where judicial Serjeants were made

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

s and normal Serjeants barristers.

Call to the Coif

The process of being called to the order of Serjeants-at-Law stayed fairly constant. The traditional method was that the Serjeants would discuss among themselves prospective candidates, and then make recommendations to the

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

. He would pass these names on to the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

, who would appoint the new Serjeants. This was intended to provide a way to select possible judges in a period where political favouritism was rampant – since only Serjeants could become judges, making sure that Serjeants were not political appointees was seen to provide for a neutral judiciary. Serjeants were traditionally appointed by a writ directly from the King. The writ was issued under the

and required "the elected and qualified apprentices of the law to take the state and degree of a Serjeant-at-Law". The newly created Serjeants would then assemble in one of the

, where they would hear a speech from the

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and be given a purse of gold. The Coif was then placed on the Serjeant's head. The Serjeants were required to swear an oath, which was that they would:

serve the King's people as one of the Serjeants-at-law, and you shall truly counsel them that you be retained with after your cunning; and you shall not defer or delay their causes willingly, for covetness of money, or other thing that may turn you to profit; and you shall give due attendance accordingly. So help you God.

The new Serjeants would give a feast to celebrate, and gave out rings to their close friends and family to mark the occasion. The King, the

and other figures also received rings. The major courts would be suspended for the day, and the other Serjeants, judges, leaders of the

and occasionally the King would attend.

Serjeant's Inn Serjeant's Inn (formerly Serjeants' Inn) was the legal inn of the Serjeants-at-Law in London. Originally there were two separate societies of Serjeants-at-law: the Fleet Street inn dated from 1443 and the Chancery Lane inn dated from 1416. In 17 ...

and the

were not big enough for such an occasion, and

Ely Place Ely Place is a gated road of multi-storey terraces at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden in London, England. It hosts a 1773-rebuilt public house, Ye Olde Mitre, of Tudor origin and is adjacent to Hatton Garden. It is privatel ...

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

would instead be used. The feasts gradually declined in importance, and by the 17th century they were small enough to be held in the Inns. The last recorded feast was in 1736 in

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, when fourteen new Serjeants were raised to the Coif.

Robes

The traditional clothing of a Serjeant-at-Law consisted of a

, a robe and a furred cloak. The robe and cloak were later adapted into the robe worn by judges. The cut and colour of this robe varied – records from the

King's Privy Wardrobe The Jewel Tower is a 14th-century surviving element of the Palace of Westminster, in London, England. It was built between 1365 and 1366, under the direction of William of Sleaford and Henry de Yevele, to house the personal treasure of King ...

show judges being instructed to wear robes of scarlet, green, purple and

miniver Miniver, an unspotted white fur edged with grey, derives from the winter coat of the red squirrel. Miniver differs from ermine (stoat) fur in that it does not include the distinctive black tails of the stoat but is formed of distinctive grey edge ...

, and Serjeants being ordered to wear the same.Pulling (1884) p.218 In 1555 new Serjeants were required to have robes of scarlet, brown, blue, mustard and

murrey In heraldry, murrey is a "stain", i. e. a non-standard tincture, that is a dark reddish purple colour. It is most proximate in appearance to the heraldic tincture of purpure, but is distinct therefrom. Overview According to dictionaries, "m ...

. By the time the order came to an end the formal robes were red, but Mr. Serjeant Robinson recalled that, towards the end days of the order, black silk gowns were the everyday court garb and the red gown was worn only on certain formal occasions. The cape was originally a cloak worn separately from the robe, but gradually made its way into the uniform as a whole. John Fortescue described the cape as the "main ornament of the order",Pulling (1884) p. 220 distinguished only from the cape worn by judges because it was furred with lambskin rather than miniver. The capes were not worn into court by the advocates, only by the serjeants.Pulling (1884) p. 221 The coif was the main symbol of the Order of Serjeants-at-Law, and is where their most recognisable name (the Order of the Coif) comes from. The coif was white and made of either silk or

. A Serjeant was never obliged to take off or cover his coif, not even in the presence of the King, except as a judge when passing a death sentence. In that situation he would wear a

black cap The black cap is a plain black fabric square formerly worn as symbolic headgear by English, Welsh, Irish and Northern Irish judges in criminal cases when passing a sentence of death. When worn, the square was placed on top of the judicial wig, ...

intended to cover the Coif, although it is often confused with the coif itself. When wigs were first introduced for barristers and judges it caused some difficulty for Serjeants, who were not allowed to cover the coif. Wigmakers got around this by adding a small white cloth to the top of the wig, representing the coif.

King's or Queen's Serjeants

A King's or Queen's Serjeant was a Serjeant-at-Law appointed to serve

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

as a legal adviser to the monarch and their government in the same way as the

Attorney-General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

. The King's Serjeant (who had the postnominal KS, or QS during the reign of a female monarch) would represent the Crown in court, acting as prosecutor in criminal cases and representative in civil ones, and would have higher powers and ranking in the lower courts than the Attorney- or Solicitor General. King's Serjeants also worked as legal advisers in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, and were not allowed to act in cases against the Crown or do anything that would harm it; in 1540 Serjeant Browne was heavily punished for creating a tax avoidance scheme. The King's Serjeants would wear a black Coif with a narrow strip of white, unlike the all-white Coif of a normal Serjeant. The King's Serjeants were required to swear a second oath to serve "The King and his people", rather than "The King's people" as a Serjeant-at-Law would swear. The King's favoured Serjeant would become the King's Premier Serjeant, while the oldest one was known as the King's Ancient Serjeant.

Precedence, status and rights of audience

For almost all of their history, Serjeants at Law and King's Serjeants were the only advocates given

rights of audience In common law, a right of audience is generally a right of a lawyer to appear and conduct proceedings in court on behalf of their client. In English law, there is a fundamental distinction between barristers, who have rights of audience in the ...

in the

. Until the 17th century they were also first in the order of precedence in the

and

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

, which gave them priority in motions before the court. Serjeants also had the privilege of being immune from most normal forms of lawsuit – they could only be sued by a writ from the Court of Chancery. It was held as an extension of this that servants of Serjeants could only be sued in the Common Pleas. As part of the Court of Common Pleas the Serjeants also performed some judicial duties, such as levying fines. In exchange for these privileges, Serjeants were expected to fulfil certain duties; firstly, that they represent anybody who asked regardless of their ability to pay, and secondly that, due to the small number of judges, they serve as deputy judges to hear cases when there was no judge available. Only Serjeants-at-Law could become judges of the common law courts; this rule came into being in the 14th century for the Courts of Common Pleas and King's Bench, and was extended to the Exchequer of Pleas in the 16th century; it did not apply to the

, a court of

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

, or the Ecclesiastical Courts. The Serjeants-at-Law also had social privileges; they ranked above

and Companions of the Bath, and their wives had the right to be addressed as "Lady —", in the same way as the wives of knights or

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

s. A Serjeant made a King's Counsel or judge would still retain these social privileges. As the cream of the legal profession, Serjeants earned higher fees than normal barristers. In the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

King's Serjeants came before all other barristers, even the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, until the introduction of

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

.Pulling (1884) p. 182 This state of affairs came to an end as a result of two changes – firstly, during the reign of

, when a royal patent gave the Attorney General precedence over all King's Serjeants "except the two ancientiest",Pulling (1884) p. 183 and secondly in 1814 when the Attorney General of the time was a barrister and the Solicitor General (politically junior to the Attorney General) a King's Serjeant. To reflect the political reality, the Attorney General was made superior to any King's Serjeant, and this remained until the order of Serjeants-at-Law finally died out.

In literature

The main character in C. J. Sansom's

Shardlake The ''Shardlake series'' is a series of historical mystery novels by C. J. Sansom, set in the reign of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in the 16th century. Sansom has said that he plans to write further Shardlake novels taking the lawyer into t ...

novels, hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake, is a Serjeant-at-Law during the reign of

King Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Serjeant-At-Law England Historical legal occupations Medieval English court system