British and Irish History

The Oxford Companion to British History A Dictionary of British History Further reading

solicitor-general

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | Copyright

solicitor-general. The ‘junior’ of the two law officers of the crown. The precursor of this office was the ‘king's solicitor’ first mentioned in 1461 and the title ‘solicitor-general’ was first used in 1515. From 1525 onwards the office of solicitor-general was a ‘stepping stone’ to the office of attorney-general, whose deputy and subordinate he was. The solicitor-general was accepted without controversy as a member of the House of Commons and although, like the attorney-general, he was a law officer of the crown, he did not incur the same odium politically as he did not prosecute for criminal libel. The solicitor-general was more familiar with Chancery than his colleague and for that reason, on at least one occasion, in 1733, the solicitor-general was created lord chancellor, whereas the attorney-general became lord chief justice. Despite the title, the solicitor-general is a barrister. There is a separate solicitor-general for Scotland, who acts as deputy to the lord advocate.

Maureen Mulholland

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JOHN CANNON. "solicitor-general." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "solicitor-general." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-solicitorgeneral.html

JOHN CANNON. "solicitor-general." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-solicitorgeneral.html

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solicitor‐general

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Copyright

solicitor‐general The ‘junior’ of the two law officers of the crown. The precursor of this office was the ‘king's solicitor’ first mentioned in 1461 and the title ‘solicitor‐general’ was first used in 1515. From 1525 onwards the office of solicitor‐general was a ‘stepping stone’ to the office of attorney‐general, whose deputy and subordinate he was. There is a separate solicitor‐general for Scotland, who acts as deputy to the lord advocate.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

JOHN CANNON. "solicitor‐general." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "solicitor‐general." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-solicitorgeneral.html

JOHN CANNON. "solicitor‐general." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-solicitorgeneral.html

Learn more about citation styles

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