Devilling is the period of training,

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 ...

or junior work undertaken by a person wishing to become an advocate in one of the English-speaking common law systems of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Etymology

While there is currently no consensus on the origin of the term, it likely was borrowed from the existing phrase '

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Ambrose Bierce, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain served ...

', (or printer's apprentice) the origin of which is also in dispute. One possible explanation is that, in the earliest stages of moveable type, most if not all printings were of bibles and biblical passages. When an error occurred with the new and complex technology, the mistake would be blamed on the Devil. As the profession grew, young apprentices were equally easy to blame, and thus became the replacement scapegoat for any errors.

Scotland

The prospective advocate is placed under the care of a devilmaster, who traditionally must not be a

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 ...

. The pupil follows a programme of training as laid down by the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

. The process has an ancient heritage, as it is the legal right of the Faculty of Advocates to admit persons as advocates to the

Courts of Scotland The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland, under statutory, common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland, who are the various judicial o ...

. This right was apparently granted by the

College of Justice The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...

Ireland

Devilling is a period of training undertaken by

barristers 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 givin ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

where they work under a more senior barrister (one who has been called for seven or more years but who is not a

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

) who is called their master. A barrister is

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 ...

after successfully completing the course of barrister-at-law in the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

, but during their first year of practice, they must devil for one year. It is common for barristers to also devil during their second year of practice. The work is generally unpaid and there is no obligation on the master to cover the costs of the devil. A barrister who has not devilled cannot practice Irish law in Ireland, but may still be recognised as fully qualified by the bar associations of other EEA member states, and practise in those member states in accordance with the relevant

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

(EU) directives.

England and Wales

The term is used in the English legal system to refer to a junior barrister undertaking paid written work on behalf of a more senior barrister. The instructing solicitor is not informed of the arrangement and the junior barrister is paid by the senior barrister out of his own fee as a private arrangement between the two. This is one of the exceptions to the usual prohibition on fee sharing under the Code of Conduct for Barristers in England and Wales.

Australia

Australia has a devilling process similar to that of the UK, with only nine months of apprenticeship required for new advocates. Additionally, the Bar Association of Australia requires devils be paid, with the official recommendation 50% of the barrister's fees.

Treasury Devil

"Treasury Devil" is the colloquial term for the First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law), a private practitioner barrister who represents

His Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

in the civil courts, instructed by the

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 go ...

. It was a tradition that the Treasury Devil was made a High Court Judge after the end of his term in office. There is no current Treasury Devil: Philip Sales (now Lord Sales), the last Treasury Devil, was appointed Queen's Counsel while serving in the role, and so ceased to be ''Junior'' Treasury Counsel and "Devil", and became First Treasury Counsel (Common Law). The incumbent in the role, James Eadie was appointed in 2009 when he was already a QC, and so also holds the position of First Treasury Counsel (Common Law). Treasury Counsel (Common Law) should not be confused with the criminal barristers appointed to the Treasury Counsel team who are responsible for prosecuting the most serious criminal cases. The team is headed by the "First Senior Treasury Counsel (Criminal)"Attorney-General's office
New First Senior Treasury Counsel announced
and is composed of ten senior and seven junior Treasury Counsel. Treasury Counsel (Criminal) are so-named because historically they were also instructed by the Treasury Solicitor (who in earlier times was also

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 ...

), although criminal prosecution is now overseen by the independent

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 advi ...

List of Treasury Devils

As Junior Counsel to the Treasury (Common Law): * 1848–1864:

William Newland Welsby William Newland Welsby (bapt. 3 January 1802England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 – 1 July 1864) was a legal writer who was born in Acton, Cheshire about 1802, was the only son of William Welsby of the Middle Temple, gentleman. He ...

* 1864–1868: James Hannen * 1868–1872: Thomas Dickson Archibald * 1872–1879: Charles S. C. Bowen *1879–1883: A. L. Smith *1883–1890: R. S. Wright *1890–1905: Henry Sutton *1905–1912: Sidney A. T. Rowlatt *1912–1921: George A. H. Branson *1921–1930: Henry Martley Giveen *1930–1935:

Wilfrid Lewis Sir Wilfrid Hubert Poyer Lewis, (9 February 1881 – 15 March 1950) was a British judge, barrister, and ecclesiastical lawyer. He served as Junior Counsel to the Treasury (Common Law) (one of the British government's most senior lawyers) from ...

*1935–1945:

Valentine Holmes Valentine Holmes (born 24 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays across the backline as a or er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and Australia at international level. He began his career with t ...

* 1945–1950:

Hubert Parker Hubert Stanley Wyborn Parker DSO VD (16 October 1883—26 July 1966) was an Australian politician who represented the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of North-East Fremantle from 1930 until 1933, and one of the three Legisla ...

* 1950–1954: John Ashworth * 1954–1959:

Rodger Winn Sir Charles Rodger Noel Winn, CB, OBE (22 December 1903 – 4 June 1972) was a British judge and Royal Navy intelligence officer who led the tracking of German U-boat operations during World War II. Early life Winn suffered from polio as a ...

* 1959–1964: Roualeyn Cumming-Bruce * 1964–1968: Nigel Bridge As First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law): * 1968–1974:

Gordon Slynn Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley (17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life Sl ...

* 1974–1979: Harry Woolf * 1979–1984: Simon D. Brown * 1984–1992:

John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian radio announcer. For 50 years, until 2007, he was the host of an Australian morning radio program combining music with interviews, opinion, live advert ...

* 1992–1997: Stephen Richards * 1997–2006:

Philip Sales Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

As First Treasury Counsel (Common Law): * 2006–2008:

QC * 2009–present: Sir James Eadie; the first QC appointed directly to the position

References

{{UK law Scots law Law of the Republic of Ireland English legal terminology