Chambers have been celebrating after the announcement of 108 appointments as Queen’s Counsel.
Those who succeeded in the famously tough selection process include four solicitor advocates (out of five who applied)—two White & Case international arbitration partners, Aloke Ray and Dipen Sabharwal; Allen & Overy international arbitration partner Mark Levy; and Stephen Fietta, partner at public international law firm Fietta.
Also taking silk will be 30 women (out of 55 who applied) and 13 applicants with an ethnic origin other than white (out of 30 who applied). These numbers are similar to those in the previous silk round.
The youngest applicant is 37 years old and the oldest is 60. Some 19 applicants aged over 50 were appointed.
Sir Alex Allan, Chair of the Selection Panel, said: ‘We remain concerned that the number of female applicants remains comparatively low, but I am pleased that of those women who did apply, well over 50% were successful.
‘I was also pleased to note that the number of BAME applicants appointed was in proportion to their representation amongst applicants, and amongst the relevant cohort of the profession.’
Some 173 of the 240 applicants were interviewed by the Selection Panel.
Richard Atkins QC, Chair of the Bar, commented on the appointments saying: 'Congratulations to all of the candidates who have become Queen’s Counsel. Taking silk is a tremendous achievement which is acknowledged not only in England & Wales but around the world and recognises exceptionally high standards of advocacy. To those who were not successful, I would encourage them not to be too down-hearted. As I know from personal experience, good things do not always come on the first application!
'Some trends from this announcement offer encouragement on diversity in the QC ranks. There is a greater success rate amongst women applicants (55 per cent) compared to men (42 per cent), but the fact remains under a quarter of applicants (23 per cent) were women. Almost one-hundred years after the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, there is still a lot of progress to be made on securing gender parity in the QC ranks. In terms of BAME applicants, the success of those who declared themselves of ethnic origin is on a par with white candidates this year, although slightly down from last year.
'We need to look closely at what more can be done to encourage applications and the Bar Council will be doing more work on this topic this year. There is a need to encourage applications for Silk from a much wider talent pool. The Bar Council offers a Silk and Judicial Mentoring scheme, as do some of the specialist Bar Associations and circuits. We encourage quality candidates from all backgrounds to use this support when considering applying for silk.'
The silk ceremony will be held on 11 March.
