Stephen Lindsay Parkinson (born 15 June 1957) is an English

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and former

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 ...

, who has been the

Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales) The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the third most senior public prosecutor in England and Wales, ranking after the attorney general and solicitor general. First created in 1879, th ...

(DPP) and head of the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

(CPS) since November 2023.

Early life and education

Parkinson was born on 15 June 1957 to Edward Parkinson, an Anglican priest, and Mary Parkinson, a physician. He was educated at

John Hampden Grammar School John Hampden Grammar School (known colloquially as "JHGS") is a selective state boys' grammar school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is named after the local member of parliament and English Civil War commander John Hampden. In J ...

, an all-boys

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

in Buckinghamshire, and then at The Chippenham School, a mixed-sex

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

in Wiltshire. Between 1976 and 1979, he studied law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, graduating with a

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 ...

(LLB) degree. He then studied at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...

from 1979 to 1980.

Legal career

In 1980, Parkinson was

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 ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He then undertook his

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which bar ...

at 3 Temple Gardens between 1980 and 1982, thereby qualifying to practice as a

. He then worked as a

sub-editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

at Butterworth Legal Publishers from 1982 to 1984. He joined the

(CPS) for the first time in 1984 as a legal assistant and worked his way up to senior crown prosecutor. He was head of the CPS's International Co-operation Unit from 1991 to 1992. Parkinson then moved into the wider

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, and was assistant solicitor at the Department of Trade and Industry from 1992 to 1996, and head of the Company/Chancery Litigation Group at 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 ...

from 1996 to 1999. From 1999 to 2003, he served as deputy legal secretary to the Law Officers (i.e. deputy head) at the

Attorney General's Office The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is a department of His Majesty's Government that supports the Attorney General and their deputy, the Solicitor General (together, the Law officers of the Crown in England and Wales). It is sometimes referred ...

. In 2003, Parkinson moved into private practice and joined London law firm

Kingsley Napley Kingsley may refer to: People *Kingsley (given name) * Kingsley (surname) Places Australia * Kingsley, Western Australia Canada * Rural Municipality of Kingsley No. 124, Saskatchewan England *Kingsley, Cheshire * Kingsley, Hampshire *Kingsley, ...

. He was admitted as a

in 2005, and became a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

of the firm in the same year. He was head of the criminal litigation practice from 2006 to 2018, and subsequently became the firm's senior partner in May 2018. He retired in 2023 after 20 years with the firm. In September 2023, it was announced that he would be the next

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. He took up the post on 1 November 2023, succeeding Sir Max Hill. He is the first solicitor to be the DPP since the 1960s, and the first to head the CPS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Stephen 1957 births Living people English barristers English solicitors Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales) Alumni of University College London Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law