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Tuesday 1 October 2024 marked the Opening of the Legal Year.

The legal profession in England and Wales celebrated the formal opening of the legal year with a centuries-old ceremony in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 1 October.

Attorney General Lord Hermer KC, Solicitor General Sarah Sackman KC MP, and Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon, all attended the service. This was followed by the Lord Chancellor’s breakfast at the Houses of Parliament.  

Susanna McGibbon, Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department, said:  

I am pleased to represent the Government Legal Department and wider legal profession at this historic event. I look forward to working closely with the Attorney General and Solicitor General over the coming legal year.

Supporting the rule of law  

The Government Legal Department is the principal legal adviser to the government of the day. We help the government to govern well, within the rule of law.  

Over the coming legal year, we will help the new government start to deliver their missions.  

For example:  

• GLD lawyers worked with HM Treasury on the Budget Responsibility Bill which promotes the government’s mission of economic stability.   

• GLD is supporting DCMS on the Football Governance Bill, which was reintroduced in the Kings’ Speech, and will establish an independent football regulator and support economic growth.  

• Our DESNZ legal advisers are helping to create Great British Energy to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.  

Continuing tradition  

Historically, the legal year was divided into four terms and started with a religious ceremony at Westminster Abbey, when judges prayed for guidance at the start of the legal term.  

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, led this years’ service which was attended by judges and members of the legal profession. Following tradition, judges arrived in procession from the Royal Courts of Justice.