Retiring From the Bench? Sell Your Law Library

The library is often two libraries

Most judicial appointments come after a full career at the Bar or in practice, which means the shelves being cleared usually represent two distinct periods: the practitioner texts built up across years as a solicitor or barrister, and whatever was added during time on the bench. Neither on its own is unusual — together, over a long career, it adds up to more than most people expect when they finally look at it properly.

You don't need to separate the two eras before contacting us. A photograph of the shelves is enough, and it makes no difference to us which period a given set is from.

Judges are serving longer, and libraries are growing with them

The mandatory retirement age for judges, magistrates and coroners was raised from 70 to 75 under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, which received Royal Assent in March 2022. Whatever the reasoning behind the change, one practical effect is straightforward: judicial careers are, on average, getting longer, and the libraries accumulated across them are growing accordingly. If your own retirement has been delayed or extended under the new arrangements, that's likely reflected in how much there now is to deal with.

A note on what's actually yours to sell

We want to be straightforward about something that doesn't come up with other sellers in quite the same way: some material connected to judicial office may belong to the relevant court or circuit rather than to you personally. We're not in a position to advise on that distinction, and we'd rather you checked with the appropriate administration first if there's any doubt than assume either way. What we buy is what's genuinely yours to sell — your own accumulated practitioner library, built up across your career.

Discretion, as standard

This applies to every seller on this site, but it's worth restating here specifically: enquiries are confidential, there's no signage on any vehicle, and collection is arranged at a time and location that suits you. Nobody else needs to know the collection is happening, before or after.

What we buy

The same range as anywhere else on this site — Halsbury's Laws, the All England Law Reports, the Law Reports, and the practitioner texts that go with them, from either era of your career. See everything we buy. Anything genuinely past its working life is still collected and recycled responsibly, free of charge.