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 goes back several centuries. The office was enshrined in law by the Treasury Solicitor Act 1876, which established the Treasury Solicitor as a corporation sole (an office with perpetual succession). Employees of the department exercise legal powers which are vested in the corporation sole. The department is a

non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil se ...

and executive agency. The Treasury Solicitor reports to the Attorney General for England and Wales. The department employs more than 1,900

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 ...

s and

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 to provide advice and legal representation on a huge range of issues to many government departments.

History

The department was historically known as the Treasury Solicitor's Department, but changed name to the Government Legal Department on 1 April 2015. The new name reflects a "significant period of change", which saw the department double in size to 2,000 staff. The head of the department combines the ancient office of

King's Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

with that of Treasury Solicitor. She has the formal title of His Majesty's Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor. The office is currently held by

Susanna McGibbon Susanna Justine McGibbon (born 11 November 1967) is a barrister and senior British civil servant who currently serves as HM Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service, and so Permanent Secretary of the Gove ...

who succeeded Sir Jonathan Jones after his resignation on 8 September 2020. She is also the Chief Executive of the department as an executive agency.

Functions

Government Legal Department lawyers work in both advisory and litigation roles. In litigation, lawyers bring and defend legal proceedings involving central government and related bodies. In advisory teams, lawyers provide advice to ministers and civil servants on both the current law and on proposed Government policies and future legislation. The department is the authorised address for service of proceedings on most government departments, by virtue of the list published under the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. In England (with the exception of Lancashire, Manchester and Cornwall, where the function is delegated to Farrer & Co), the Treasury Solicitor is the Crown's nominee for the collection and disposition of ownerless property ('' bona vacantia''). This typically comprises the assets of dissolved companies and the estates of persons who die intestate and with no known kin.

List of HM Procurators-General and Treasury Solicitors

King's Proctor/Procurators General

The office of King's (or Queen's) Proctor is ancient; it also came to be known as HM Procurator General. The following were King's or Queen's Proctor after 1660: * 1660–1669: Alexander Cheeke *1669–1700: Samuel Franklyn *1700–1710: Thomas Smith *1710–1714: George Smith *1714–1727:

Henry Farrant Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

*1727–1750: Edward Greenly *1750–1766:

Thomas Tindal Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

*1766–1783: Philip Champion de Crespigny *1783–1804:

James Heseltine James Heseltine (also spelled Hesletine; c. 1690 – 20 June 1763) was organist of Durham Cathedral. Life Heseltine was a pupil of John Blow at the Chapel Royal in London, leaving the chapel choir when his voice broke in 1707. Early in the centur ...

"HM Procurator General: Report Books, Series I"
''The National Archives''. Retrieved 31 October 2018. *1804–1815: Charles Bishop
The London Gazette
', 28 November 1815 (issue 17085), p. 2377. *1815–1844:

Iltid Nicholl Iltid Nicholl (c. – 8 November 1844), also spelt Iltyd Nicholl, was a Welsh lawyer. The son of Iltid Nicholl (died 1786) of Llanmaes (near Llantwit Major in Wales) and Jane, daughter of Henry Morgan, of Bristol, Nicholl was the nephew of th ...

The London Gazette
', 28 January 1845 (issue 20436), p. 247. *1845–1876: Francis Hart Dyke
The London Gazette
', 4 August 1876 (issue 24351), p. 4374.

Treasury Solicitor

Historically, there were two solicitors in the Treasury. The first (The Solicitor for Negotiating and Looking after the Affairs of the Treasury), which existed alone until 1696, had become a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

by 1744, and perhaps as early as 1716; from the late 18th century the office included a salary of £200 a year. It was abolished in 1800. A second Treasury Solicitor, the precursor of the modern office, was established in 1696 and was assigned all the legal business undertaken in Westminster Hall; as the first Solicitor became a sinecure, the second Solicitor became the only one responsible for legal business. By 1786, its office-holder was carrying out legal work for other secretaries of state and the Attorney-General, and in the early nineteenth century was employed by other government departments as well. From 1794, the Solicitor was also barred from running their own private practice. The salary began at £500, increased to £1,000 in 1755 and then to £2,000 in 1794; until the 1830s, the Solicitor also charged fees for work done in departments outside the Treasury, but these were then abolished and he received an allowance of £850 in addition to his salary. The whole salary was fixed at £2,000 in 1851, and then increased to £2,500 in 1872."Solicitors and Assistant-Solicitors, 1660–1870"
in J. C. Sainty, ''Office-Holders in Modern Britain'', vol. 1 (University of London, 1972), pp. 97–98. The following were Treasury Solicitors after 1660.

Treasury Solicitor (I; a sinecure by 1744 and abolished in 1800)

* By 1661: John Rushworth * By 1673: Sir William Turner * 1676–1679: John Ramsey * 1679–1685: Thomas Lloyd * 1685–1689: Philip Burton * 1689–1696: Aaron Smith * 1696–1716: Henry Baker * 1716–1728: Philip Horneck * 1728–1729: Edward Roome * 1729–1737: Charles Valence Jones * 1737–1744: Charlton Hayward * 1744–1800: Hugh Valence Jones

Treasury Solicitor (II; from 1696)

* 1696–1700: Nicholas Baker * 1700–1715: William Borrett * 1715–1730:

Anthony Cracherode Anthony Cracherode (c. 1674–1752), of Cholderton, Wiltshire, was a British government lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1728 to 1734 . Cracherode was probably the son of Anthony Cracherode, who was the second son of M ...

* 1730–1742:

Nicholas Paxton Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its d ...

* 1742–1756: John Sharpe * 1756–1765: Philip Carteret Webb * 1765–1775: Thomas Nuthall * 1775–1794: William Chamberlayne * 1794–1806: Joseph White * 1806–1818: Henry Charles Litchfield * 1818–1851: George Maule * 1851–1866: Henry Revell Reynolds * 1866–1871: John Greenwood * 1871–1875: John Gray * 1875–1894: Augustus Keppel StephensonWendie Ellen Schneider, ''Engines of Truth: Producing Veracity in the Victorian Courtroom'' (Yale University Press, 2015), pp. 157–158.

Procurators General and Treasury Solicitor

In 1876, Augustus Keppel Stephenson, the Treasury Solicitor, was appointed Queen's Proctor and Procurator General; since then, the offices of Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor have been held together. By 1971, the office came with a salary of £14,000 a year. The following have been jointly HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor: *1876–1894: Sir Augustus Keppel Stephenson, KCB
London Gazette
', 26 October 1894 (issue 26564), p. 6005. *1894–1909: Hamilton Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart, KP, KCB, PC *1909–1923: Sir John Paget Mellor, 1st Baronet, KCB * 1923–1926: Hon.

Alfred Clive Lawrence Alfred Clive Lawrence, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (October 1876 – 13 March 1926), commonly known by his middle name, was a British barrister, who was HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor from 1923 until his death i ...

, CBE * 1926–1933: Sir

Maurice Linford Gwyer Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, (25 April 1878 – 12 October 1952) was a British lawyer, judge, and academic administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University from 1938 to 1950, and Chief Justice of India from 1937 to 1943). He is ...

, GCB, KCB, KCSI, QC * 1934–1953: Sir

Thomas James Barnes Sir Thomas James Barnes (21 March 1888 – 4 February 1964) was an English lawyer, who served as HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor between 1934 and 1953. Career Thomas James Barnes was born on 21 March 1888 in Cheshire to Thomas Barn ...

, GCB, Kt, CBE * 1953–1964: Sir

Harold Simcox Kent Sir Harold Simcox Kent (11 November 1903 – 4 December 1998) was a British lawyer. Early life Kent was born on 11 November 1903 in Tianjin, China, where his father, Percy Horace Braund Kent, OBE, MC, was a barrister in the consular court sp ...

, GCB, QC * 1964–1971: Sir

William Arthur Harvey Druitt Sir William Arthur Harvey Druitt, KCB (19 April 1910 – 6 February 1973), commonly known as Sir Harvey Druitt, was a British lawyer. Career Born on 19 April 1910 to Arthur Druitt of Gullane, Harvey Druitt was educated at the Edinburgh Academ ...

, KCB * 1971–1975: Sir Henry Gabriel Ware, KCB * 1975–1980: Sir Basil Brodribb Hall, KCB, MC, TD * 1980–1984: Sir Michael James Kerry, KCB, QC * 1984–1988: Sir John Bilsland Bailey, KCB * 1988–1992: Sir James Nursaw, KCB, QC * 1992–1995: Sir

Gerald Albery Hosker Sir Gerald Albery Hosker, KCB, KC (Hon) (born 28 July 1933) is a retired British lawyer and public servant. Early life and education Born in 1933, Sir Gerald is the son of Leslie Reece Hosker and Constance Alice, ''née'' Hubbard. He was educ ...

, KCB, QC * 1995–1996: Michael Lawrence Saunders, CB * 1997–2000: Sir

Anthony Hilgrove Hammond Sir Anthony Hilgrove Hammond, KCB (27 July 1940 – 24 June 2020) was a British lawyer and public servant.

, KCB QC (Hon) * 2000–2006: Dame Juliet Louise Wheldon, DCB QC * 2006–2014: Sir Paul Christopher Jenkins, KCB, QC (Hon) * 2014–2020: Sir Jonathan Guy Jones, KCB, QC (Hon) * 2021–present:

References

External links

*
Government Legal Department

Bona Vacantia
{{Departments of the United Kingdom Government, type=Non-ministerial, title=Government Legal Department Law of the United Kingdom Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government 1876 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1876