Devil (legal)

In English and Welsh legal terminology, a devil is a junior barrister who undertakes written work on behalf of a more senior barrister. The work goes out in the name of the senior barrister, and the instructing solicitors are not usually informed of the arrangement. The junior barrister is paid by the senior barrister out the latter's own fee as a private arrangement between the two, this being one of the exceptions to the usual prohibition on fee sharing under the Code of Conduct for Barristers in England and Wales.

The Treasury Devil, more formally the First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law), or the First Junior Treasury Counsel (Chancery) is a senior barrister (but not a QC) who undertakes legal work, both advice and advocacy, on behalf of HM Government, notionally as devil to the Attorney-General.

While it is true that the Treasury Devil is not a QC, in fact becoming Treasury Devil is much more prestigous than taking silk (becoming a QC). It is simply a tradition of the bar that the Treasury Devil does not take silk.

In Scottish legal terminology, a devil is a trainee barrister who must spend one year working for an experienced barrister (the "master").

ee also

*Devilling