proctor, in English law, formerly a practitioner in ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, who performed duties similar to those of solicitors in ordinary courts. After the Judicature Act of 1873, the title of proctor in this sense became obsolete, the term solicitor being extended to include proctors. See also solicitor.
The word is still used sometimes in the United States to denote any practitioner in probate and admiralty courts; in England the queen’s proctor, who represents the British crown in divorce cases, still exists.