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, 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 Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common Pleas served as one of the central English courts for around 600 years. Authorised by Magna Carta to sit in a fixed location, the Common Pleas sat in Westminster Hall for its entire existence, joined by the Exchequer of Pleas and Court of King's Bench.
Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton, PC (Ire) was a leading Irish lawyer and politician who sat in the Parliament of Ireland between 1692 and 1715 and in the British House of Commons from 1717 to 1728. He was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Although he was a man of great gifts, he was so hot-tempered that even Jonathan Swift is said to have been afraid of him.
Sir Robert Foster (1589–1663) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Sir John Fineux was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Sir Robert Catlyn was an English judge and Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. He should not be confused with his cousin Richard Catlyn, a politician, who died in 1556.
Sir Robert Rede KS was an English Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Sir Thomas Wode, KS, of Childrey in Berkshire, was Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1500 and in 1478 was elected a Member of Parliament for Wallingford.
Sir John Vavasour KS was an English judge. He was apparently part of a minor regional knightly family, and studied law at Inner Temple. He was made a Serjeant-at-Law in 1478 and appointed a King's Serjeant in 1483, followed by a 1485 appointment as Second Justice of Lancaster and a 1495 promotion there to Chief Justice.
John Catesby KS was a British judge.
Sir Humphrey Starkey was a British justice.
Sir Roger Townshend KS was an English landowner, judge, and politician. Though his ancestors had held lands in Norfolk for generations, their estates being centred on the village of Raynham, he was the first of his family to attain national prominence.
William Danvers of Chamberhouse Castle in Thatcham, Berkshire, was a British judge. He was a Serjeant-at-Law and a Justice of the Peace.
Sir Edmond Stanley SL (1760–1843) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and politician who served as Serjeant-at-Law of the Parliament of Ireland, Recorder of Prince of Wales Island, now Penang, and subsequently Chief Justice of Madras. The elopement of his teenage daughter Mary Anne in 1815 caused a notable scandal. His career was hampered by his enormous debts, as a result of which he was forced to resign his Irish office.
Sir Samuel Shepherd KS PC FRSE was a British barrister, judge and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales and Lord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer.
Sir Thomas Raymond or Rayment was a British judge. Born to Robert Raymond, he was educated at a school in Bishop's Stortford before matriculating to Christ's College, Cambridge on 5 April 1643. On 6 February 1645 he joined Gray's Inn, being called to the Bar there on 11 February 1651. In October 1677 he became a Serjeant-at-Law, before being appointed a Baron of the Exchequer on 1 May 1679 and knighted on 26 June. On 7 February 1680 he became a Justice of the Common Pleas, and on 24 April 1680 transferred to the Court of King's Bench. He died on 14 July 1683, leaving behind a set of law reports titled Reports of divers special cases adjudged in the courts of king's bench, common pleas, and exchequer in the reign of King Charles II, which were published in 1696, 1743, 1793 and 1803. His son, Robert Raymond, also later became a judge. Commentators of the time identified him as having "extraordinary servility" and being an "unprincipled judge", with his failure in a witchcraft trial to point out the "irrationality" of the defendants' confessions leading to their death.
Sir James Reynolds (1686–1739) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1717 until 1725 when he was appointed a judge. He was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1730 to 1738. He should not be confused with his close relative Sir James Reynolds who was Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas in the same era.
John Gernoun, or Gernon was an Irish judge who held office as Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
Matthew Skinner was an English serjeant-at-law, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1738.
Sir John Lyndon was an Irish judge and politician of the seventeenth century. He was the first holder of the office of Third Serjeant-at-law, which was created especially for him, apparently as a "consolation prize" for not being made a High Court judge the first time he sought that office.
