Clerk to the Signet

In nineteenth-century Scotland, a Clerk to the Signet, more commonly called a Writer to the Signet (W.S.), was a member of the Society of Writers to the Signet, a professional body of Edinburgh law agents. Writers to the Signet had particular privileges in preparing documents passing under the Signet, including Crown writs, and in conducting legal business before the Court of Session. The title continued in use after the nineteenth century, although its special legal privileges gradually diminished.