The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Government Legal Service The Government Legal Profession (GLP), formerly the Government Legal Service,corporation sole A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ("sole") incorporated office, occupied by a single ("sole") natural person.

(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 and

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or N ...

. The Treasury Solicitor reports to 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 department employs more than 1,900 solicitors and barristers 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 with that of

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 ...

. She has the formal title of His Majesty's Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor. The office is currently held by Susanna McGibbon who succeeded Sir Jonathan Jones after his resignation on 8 September 2020. She is also the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the department as an

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 The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allowed, for the first time, civil actions against the Crown to be brought in the same way as against any other party. The Act also reasserted the comm ...

. In England (with the exception of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, where the function is delegated to

Farrer & Co Farrer & Co is a British law firm headquartered in London, England serving private individuals, charitable institutions and corporations. They have, over their more than three hundred years of operation, acted for many of the Kings and Queens o ...

), the Treasury Solicitor is the Crown's nominee for the collection and disposition of ownerless property (''

bona vacantia Unowned property includes tangible, physical things that are capable of being reduced to being property owned by a person but are not owned by anyone. ' (Latin for "ownerless goods") is a legal concept associated with the unowned property, which e ...

''). 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 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 ...

*1669–1700:

Samuel Franklyn Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

*1700–1710: Thomas Smith *1710–1714: George Smith *1714–1727: Henry Farrant *1727–1750:

Edward Greenly Edward Greenly (3 December 1861 – 4 March 1951) was an English geologist known for his a detailed geological survey of the island of Anglesey. ''The Geology of Anglesey'' was published in two volumes in 1919 and followed by a one-inch geologic ...

*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 Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738–1803) was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1790. He was of Huguenot descent, the son of Philip Champion de Crespigny (1704-1765), proctor of the Admiralty cour ...

*1783–1804: James Heseltine"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 Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

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 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 The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

; 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 John Rushworth (c. 1612 – 12 May 1690) was an English lawyer, historian and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1657 and 1685. He compiled a series of works covering the English Civil Wars throughout the 17th ce ...

* 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 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 ...

* 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 * 1730–1742: Nicholas Paxton * 1742–1756: John Sharpe * 1756–1765:

Philip Carteret Webb Philip Carteret Webb (14 August 1702 – 22 June 1770) was an English barrister, involved with the 18th-century antiquarian movement. He became a member of the London Society of Antiquaries in 1747, and as its lawyer, was responsible for securin ...

* 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 Stephenson Sir Augustus Frederick William Keppel Stephenson, (18 October 1827 in London – 26 September 1904) was a Treasury Solicitor and the second person to hold the office of Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales. Early life and family ...

Wendie 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

, KCB
London Gazette
', 26 October 1894 (issue 26564), p. 6005. *1894–1909:

Hamilton Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart Hamilton John Agmondesham Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart, (30 August 1848 – 4 November 1934) was an Irish peer and barrister. Early life Cuffe was the second son of John Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Campbell. He had an ...

, KP, KCB, PC *1909–1923: Sir John Paget Mellor, 1st Baronet, KCB * 1923–1926: Hon. Alfred Clive Lawrence, CBE * 1926–1933: Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, GCB, KCB, KCSI, QC * 1934–1953: Sir Thomas James Barnes, GCB, Kt, CBE * 1953–1964: Sir Harold Simcox Kent, GCB, QC * 1964–1971: Sir William Arthur Harvey Druitt, KCB * 1971–1975: Sir

Henry Gabriel Ware Sir Henry Gabriel Ware, KCB (23 July 1912 – 12 October 1989) was a British lawyer and government official. Career Born on 23 July 1912, Ware was educated at Marlborough College and St John's College, Oxford; he was admitted a solicitor in ...

, KCB * 1975–1980: Sir Basil Brodribb Hall, KCB, MC, TD * 1980–1984: Sir

Michael James Kerry Sir Michael James Kerry KCB QC MA (5 August 1923 – 11 May 2012) was a British lawyer and civil servant who held the official titles of Her Majesty's Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor from 1980 to 1984. Michael James Kerry was educat ...

, KCB, QC * 1984–1988: Sir

John Bilsland Bailey Sir John Bilsland Bailey (5 November 1928 – 22 February 2021) was a British solicitor and public servant. Bailey was born in Eltham, London to Walter Bailey (died 1932), who ran the Lord Derby pub opposite Woolwich Arsenal, and the compo ...

, KCB * 1988–1992: Sir

James Nursaw Sir James Nursaw, KCB, KC (born 18 October 1932) is a retired British lawyer and public servant. Born in 1932, Nursaw attended Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1954 ...

, KCB, QC * 1992–1995: Sir Gerald Albery Hosker, KCB, QC * 1995–1996:

Michael Lawrence Saunders Michael Lawrence Saunders, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB, Queen's Counsel, QC (13 April 1944 – 17 December 1996) was a British lawyer and public servant. Education and early career Saunders attended Clifton College, before completing ...

, CB * 1997–2000: Sir Anthony Hilgrove Hammond, 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: Susanna McGibbon

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