In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer who is typically a senior trial lawyer. Technically appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'His [Her] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law', the position originated in England and Wales. Some other Commonwealth countries have retained the designation, while others have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'.
Sir John Davies was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal principles that underpinned the British Empire.
The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On rare occasions, there was also a Deputy Attorney-General, who was distinct from the Solicitor-General. At least two holders of the office, Patrick Barnewall (1534–1550) and Sir Roger Wilbraham (1586-1603), played a leading role in Government, although in Barnewall's case, this may be partly because he was also King's Serjeant. As with the Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Solicitor-General for Ireland was usually a barrister rather than a solicitor.
The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the duties of the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General for Ireland were taken over by the Attorney General of Ireland. The office of Solicitor-General for Ireland was abolished at the same time for reasons of economy. This led to repeated complaints from the first Attorney General of Ireland, Hugh Kennedy, about the "immense volume of work" which he was now forced to deal with single-handedly.
Thomas Snagge (1536–1593) was a Member of Parliament, barrister and landowner who served as Speaker of the English House of Commons, Attorney General for Ireland and as Queen's Sergeant.
This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland.
Sir Roger Wilbraham was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries. He bought an estate at Dorfold in the parish of Acton, near his birthplace of Nantwich in Cheshire, and he was active in charitable works locally, including founding two sets of almshouses for impoverished men. He also founded almshouses in Monken Hadley, Middlesex, where he is buried.
Sir Robert Dillon of Riverston was an Irish lawyer, judge, and politician. He came from a family with a distinguished record of judicial service. He pursued a successful career as a judge, which was, however, dogged by accusations of corruption and other serious wrongdoing, of which the worst was that he had falsely condemned Nicholas Nugent, another judge and rival, to death. Sir Robert Dillon, the subject of this article, must not be confused with an earlier Sir Robert Dillon of Newtown, his grand-uncle, who was also Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
Patrick Barnewall was a leading figure in the Irish Government of the 1530s and 1540s. He owed his position largely to his close links with Thomas Cromwell. He sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for County Dublin, and held the offices of Solicitor General for Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Today he is mainly remembered for his role in founding the King's Inns. He belonged to a junior branch of the family of Lord Trimlestown: his own descendants held the title Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland.
Sir Charles Calthorpe (c.1540–1616) was an English-born Crown official and judge in Elizabethan and Jacobean Ireland. Prior to his appointment to the Irish High Court in 1606, he had been Attorney General for Ireland for more than 20 years, despite frequent criticisms of his professional incompetence. He was a close political associate of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot: Perrot's downfall damaged his career, but he was eventually restored to royal favour.
Edward Fitz-Symon was a leading Irish barrister and judge of the Elizabethan era. He held the offices of Attorney General for Ireland, Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and very briefly Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Despite his appointment to these senior offices, he was derided by his contemporaries as being a man of "mean learning". His family were Lords of the Manor of Baldoyle for several generations.
John Estrete, or Strete was an Irish judge, author, law lecturer and statesman of the late fifteenth century. He held the offices of King's Serjeant, Deputy Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and Master of the Coinage of Ireland. He was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. He wrote at least one legal textbook, Natura Brevium.
Richard Bellings, Bealing or Bellyngs was an Irish barrister and landowner who was Solicitor General for Ireland from 1574 to 1584. His grandson and namesake Richard Bellings was a leading figure in Confederate Ireland, which governed much of Ireland in the 1640s.
Jesse Smythes was an English born judge and colonist in Elizabethan Ireland. He held office as Solicitor General for Ireland and Chief Justice of Munster, and was heavily involved in the Plantation of Munster. He was noted for his deep hostility to the native Irish, which was even more virulent than that of the average English colonist of the time.
Nicholas Kerdiffe was an Irish barrister and Law Officer of the early seventeenth century.
Roger Owen was an Irish lawyer and Crown official. He is notable as being the first Serjeant-at-law (Ireland).
Richard Finglas was an Irish barrister and Law Officer of the sixteenth century.
Robert Fitzrery was an Irish Law Officer, landowner and judge of the fifteenth century. He was a gifted lawyer, and also suggests a shrewd and acquisitive man of business.
John de Ponz, also called John de Ponte, John Savan, or John of Bridgwater (c.1248–1307) was an English-born administrator, lawyer and judge in the reign of King Edward I. He served in the Royal Household in England for several years before moving to Ireland, where he practised in the Royal Courts as the King's Serjeant-at-law (Ireland). He later served as a justice in eyre, and then as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland). He was a gifted lawyer, but as a judge was accused of acting unjustly. A case he heard in Kilkenny in 1302 can be seen as a precursor of the Kilkenny Witchcraft Trials of 1324, and involved several of the main actors in the Trials.
Walter FitzWilliam Cotterell was an Irish barrister and Crown official of the late fourteenth century. He was Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and acted from time to time as a judge of gaol delivery and of assize, although he was never a justice in the Royal Courts. The evidence suggests that he was a conscientious and hard-working official who enjoyed the complete trust of the English Crown.