 In 1543 he was made a justice of the peace for Middlesex, later sitting on the bench for Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.Made a serjeant-at-law in 1552, Queen Mary I promoted him to Queen's Serjeant in 1553.Next year, though his prosecution of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton for treason was unsuccessful (with Throckmorton praising him for his erudition and honesty), he was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas and was knighted the following year.