This is a brief guide to help you with your research. Many records of lawyers survive, especially in archives of the relevant court. The National Archives is not the best place to look for records relating to barristers, attorneys or solicitors.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- to which court the lawyer was admitted to practice
- a date range to focus your search
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What records can I see online?
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There are no records of lawyers available online.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Clerkships in the Court of Common Pleas (c 1713-1867)
Browse Discovery, our cataloguea search tool with descriptions of 11 million documents from the UK central government, law courts, and other national bodies, in CP 5 for articles of clerkshipan agreement binding a clerk to an attorney or solicitor which allowed him, after five years, to enter the profession in his own right and related papers and in CP 71 for registers of articles. A name index for CP 5/1-245 is available in the reading rooms.
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Registers of affidavits from the Court of King's Bench (1749-1877)
Browse the Catalogue in KB 170 for registers of affidavitsaffidavit - a sworn statement bound or used as evidence in law made by articled clerks prior to being admitted to serve as attorneys and solicitors on the Court of King's Bench. These are arranged by surname of clerk.
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Register of affidavits from the Exchequer of Pleas (1833-1855)
Consult the file E 4/3 for a register of affidavits of due execution of articles of clerkshipan agreement binding a clerk to an attorney or solicitor which allowed him, after five years, to enter the profession in his own right relating to the Exchequer and related organisations.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Records of the Registrar of Attorneys and Solicitors
Find out to which court the attorney was admitted to practise - they are likely to hold the records. The Law Society has records of the Registrar of Attorneys and Solicitors, set up in 1843, which might help you find the relevant court.
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Records of barristers
You might be able to find out more about a barrister by contacting the relevant Inns of Court:
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Search The Inner Temple Admissions Database for biographical information about past members of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, one of the four London-based Inns of Court.
Download Tracing past solicitors, an online guide produced by The Law Society. -
Books
Consult the Law Lists: a directory of lawyers published annually between 1775 and 1976.
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Civil litigants
Criminal trials and convictions
Crime and punishment