Esher, William Baliol Brett, Viscount (1815-1899)

English lawyer and politician. He was called to the Bar in 1840 and became a QC (Queen's Cousel) in 1861. In the House of Commons he was prominent in promoting bills relating to the administration of law and justice. As a justice of the Court of Common Pleas he provoked criticism for some of his sentences in strike cases. On the reconstruction of the Court of Appeal he was made a lord justice. He succeeded George Jessel as master of the rolls in 1883, and retired from the Bench in 1897, when he was made a viscount. The Solicitors Act of 1888, which enhanced the powers of the Incorporated Law Society, owed much to Esher's influence. Esher was born in London, England. He was educated at Westminster and Caius College, Cambridge.