In 1876, Sir Julian Pauncefote was appointed an assistant under secretary to provide in-house legal advice to the Foreign Office, although he never held the title of Legal Adviser.
[1] In 1886, Edward Davidson was appointed Legal Assistant to the Foreign Office.
When Pauncefote was appointed British Minister to the United States in 1892, the Foreign Office List began to list Davidson as Legal Adviser eo nomine.
In 1896 he was listed immediately below under secretaries and ahead of the chief clerk.
[2] The Legal Adviser ranks as a director general, reporting directly to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.