Profession
Duncan Nichol has rejected the consideration of “additional forms of excellence” in his report into the selection procedure for Queen’s Counsel appointments, published last week.
He had been asked to consider whether “additional forms of excellence such as both litigation and nonlitigation work for partners in law firms, or wholly advisory work by lawyers in non-judicial fora, or the work of general counsel should and could be recognised by the same award of silk”.
However, Sir Duncan advised against this, stating: “It is not the right time to reignite the debate that was resolved between the Bar Council and the Law Society and approved by the lord chancellor as recently as three years ago.
“The new process is still relatively immature and vulnerable. It is also capable of being refined and approved within its current purpose and to that end the review has made a number of recommendations.”
Overall, he found the system worked well, and recommended the promotion of the QC honoris causa award to practising lawyers for a wide range of achievements.
Professor Dame Joan Higgins has been appointed as the new lay chairman of the QC Selection Panel, replacing Baroness Butler-Sloss.
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