 The First Junior Treasury Counsel is known colloquially as the "Treasury Devil" and represents Her Majesty's Government in the civil courts.Traditionally the First Junior Treasury Counsel is not appointed Queen's Counsel but it is nonetheless one of the most prestigious of legal appointments and almost inevitably leads to appointment as a High Court Judge.In 1997 Richards was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division), having been appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court the previous year.