The new cohort of King’s Counsel comprise 72 male and 33 female lawyers and only one solicitor out of five who applied—Sheila Ahuja, co-head of the India Group at A&O Shearman, an international arbitration specialist.
Overall, there was a 32% success rate among the 326 lawyers who applied. The new King’s Counsel include 18 who declared an ethnic origin other than white and eight who declared a disability, but none of the five employed barristers or ten Black lawyers who applied this year.
Barbara Mills KC, Bar chair, congratulated the successful applicants and offered commiserations to the rest.
‘There is a need to better understand the factors that impact the success of Black applicants, as well as ensuring the right support is available for those wishing to apply to demonstrate their excellence in advocacy,’ Mills said.
‘Our Race Panel is keen to develop a programme of work to support this and would welcome the opportunity to talk to Black barristers who have applied, or considered applying, for silk. For employed barristers taking silk as a sign of career progression remains a key challenge given that the KC scheme is so heavily focused on advocacy. This is something that I will work closely with our employed barristers’ committee to explore.’
Applications had to be submitted by April 2024, with candidates being judged against five competencies including integrity and advocacy (oral and written). The appointments panel collected confidential assessments from judges, fellow advocates and clients before whittling down the field to 150 people for the interview stage.
The next round of applications is due to begin in March.
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