Serjeant-at-law

A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar.

The position of Serjeant-at-Law (servientes ad legem), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France before the Norman Conquest, thus the Serjeants are said to be the oldest formally created order in England.

The order rose during the 16th century as a small, elite group of lawyers who took much of the work in the central common law courts.

The Serjeants' exclusive jurisdictions were ended during the 19th century and, with the Judicature Act 1873 coming into force in 1875, it was felt that there was no need to have such figures, and no more were created.

The Serjeants had for many centuries exclusive jurisdiction over the Court of Common Pleas, being the only lawyers allowed to argue a case there.

Only Serjeants-at-Law could become judges of these courts until the 19th century, and socially the Serjeants ranked above Knights Bachelor and Companions of the Bath.

From the 14th century onwards, a black skullcap was worn over the coif, and when wigs were adopted by the legal profession, the serjeants continued to wear the coif and skullcap in the form of small circular patches of black fabric over white fabric on top of their wigs.

[2][3] The members of the Order initially used St Paul's Cathedral as their meeting place, standing near the "parvis" where they would give counsel to those who sought advice.

Discreet he was and of great reverence, He sened swiche; his wordes were so wise, Justice he was ful often in assise, By patent, and by pleine commissiun; For his science, and for his high renoun, Of fees and robes had he many on.

[9] The exclusive jurisdiction Serjeants-at-Law held over the Court of Common Pleas slowly came about during the 1320s, squeezing the size of the bar until only a consistent group reappeared.

The rise of central courts other than the Common Pleas allowed other lawyers to gain advocacy experience and work, drawing it away from the Serjeants, and at the same time the few Serjeants could not handle all the business in the Common Pleas, allowing the rise of barristers as dedicated advocates.

[15] The decline of the Serjeants-at-Law started in 1596, when Francis Bacon persuaded Elizabeth I to appoint him "Queen's Counsel Extraordinary" (QC), a new creation which gave him precedence over the Serjeants.

The Fleet Street Inn had fallen into a "ruinous state", and the Serjeants had been unable to obtain a renewal of their lease.

[29] The property on Chancery Lane consisted of a Hall, dining room, a library, kitchens and offices for the Serjeants-at-Law.

The traditional method was that the Serjeants would discuss among themselves prospective candidates, and then make recommendations to the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.

The writ was issued under the Great Seal of the Realm and required "the elected and qualified apprentices of the law to take the state and degree of a Serjeant-at-Law".

The Serjeants were required to swear an oath, which was that they would: serve the King's people as one of the Serjeants-at-law, and you shall truly counsel them that you be retained with after your cunning; and you shall not defer or delay their causes willingly, for covetness of money, or other thing that may turn you to profit; and you shall give due attendance accordingly.

[37]The new Serjeants would give a feast to celebrate, and gave out rings to their close friends and family to mark the occasion.

[44] By the time the order came to an end the formal robes were red,[45] but Mr. Serjeant Robinson recalled that, towards the end days of the order, black silk gowns were the everyday court garb and the red gown was worn only on certain formal occasions.

[48] When wigs were first introduced for barristers and judges it caused some difficulty for Serjeants, who were not allowed to cover the coif.

[1] A King's or Queen's Serjeant was a Serjeant-at-Law appointed to serve the Crown as a legal adviser to the monarch and their government in the same way as the Attorney-General for England and Wales.

The King's Serjeant (who had the postnominal KS, or QS during the reign of a female monarch) would represent the Crown in court, acting as prosecutor in criminal cases and representative in civil ones, and would have higher powers and ranking in the lower courts than the Attorney- or Solicitor General.

Serjeants also had the privilege of being immune from most normal forms of lawsuit – they could only be sued by a writ from the Court of Chancery.

As part of the Court of Common Pleas the Serjeants also performed some judicial duties, such as levying fines.

To reflect the political reality, the Attorney General was made superior to any King's Serjeant, and this remained until the order of Serjeants-at-Law finally died out.