Paul Jenkins QC
Her Majesty’s Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor
The Treasury Solicitor’s Department
Much of The Treasury Solicitor’s Department’s work consists of highly specialised public law, legislative work and providing advice to ministers. Most of this is done within its huge in-house team of 1,000 individuals, including 800 lawyers. However Paul Jenkins QC, one of the most high-profile lawyers in the country, does use a wide range of external law firms for other work, from claims handling of personal injury through to major commercial projects. TSol is currently in the process of reviewing its 48-strong panel of law firms, which has been ongoing since the end of 2011.
External legal spend is primarily used to support public and private law litigation and amounts to £20m-25m a year. Of this, around 80% is spent on barristers and 10% on solicitors, while the remainder is used for other legal-related services such as the provision of expert witness reports. The department has two panels of external solicitors and four for barristers’ chambers.
According to Jenkins, TSol has been involved in a stream of challenging national security cases involving Guantanamo detainees recently, as well as the particularly challenging Mau Mau torture litigation.
2006-present: Her Majesty’s Procurator General, Treasury solicitor and head of the Government Legal Service
2004-06: Legal adviser, Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health