Ballantine, WILLIAM

Ballantine, WILLIAM (1812-86), serjeant-at-law, son of W. Ballantine, for many years a magistrate at the Thames Police Court, was called to the bar in 1834, and soon obtained a large practice, chiefly in criminal cases. He was created a serjeant in 1856. Amongst the famous trials with which he was associated were the Müller murder trial, Tichborne case, and the defence of the Guicowar of Baroda. From the latter he is said to have received a fee of 20,000 guineas to induce him to visit India. See his Experiences of a Barrister's Life (1882); and his Old World and the New (1884), an account of a visit to America.