Welcome
Welcome to the QC Appointments website.
2012-13 applications are now closed
The deadline for receipt of applications for appointment as Queen’s Counsel for 2013 was 18 April. Applications are now closed. You should expect to receive a VAT receipt by around 4 May. Please contact the Secretariat if you have not received your receipt by then.
It is expected that the new appointments will be announced in the early part of 2013.
The award of Queen’s Counsel is for excellence in advocacy in the higher courts. It is made to experienced advocates, both barristers and solicitors, who have rights of audience in the higher courts of England and Wales and have demonstrated the competencies in the Competency Framework to a standard of excellence.
Advocacy includes both written and oral advocacy before the higher courts, arbitrations and tribunals and equivalent bodies. The advocacy may be in written or oral form but must relate to developing and advancing a client’s or employer’s case to secure the best outcome for the client in a dispute. That outcome may, for example, be secured through arbitration, court determination or a settlement agreement. Oral advocacy includes advocacy in a court or tribunal, mediation, arbitration or in negotiation. There is no specific requirement as to the amount of written advocacy or in-court, so long as the there is sufficient evidence for the Panel to reach a conclusion as to excellence in respect of each aspect of advocacy.
The scheme is entirely self-financing. To cover the costs of the process applicants have to pay an application fee of £1950 + VAT. There will be a further appointment fee of £3500 (+ VAT) paid by successful applicants. These fees are unchanged from last year. The fees may be paid by BACS transfer or by cheque. Please see the Guidance for Applicants for 2012-13 (‘Guidance’) for details.
Click on the link to the right to find the Guidance for Applicants for 2012-13.
Applications are considered by the Selection Panel. The Selection Panel comprises nine members, with a substantial lay (i.e. non-lawyer) membership. It is also chaired by a non-lawyer. The Selection Panel is independent of the legal professional bodies and Government. There are two new Panel members this year: Sir Anthony May and Frances Oldham QC (see below).
The Selection Panel’s recommendations will be passed to the Lord Chancellor, who will put recommendations to The Queen. The Lord Chancellor has no power to veto names or to add names of his own.
It is expected that the new appointments will be announced in the early part of 2013.
If you require further information, please contact the Secretariat on 020 7831 0020 or send an email to: enquiries@qcapplications.org.uk.
New Chair and Two New Members Appointed to the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel
Helen Pitcher has been appointed as the new lay Chair of the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel, replacing Professor Dame Joan Higgins DBE, who is standing down after 6 years on the Panel. Helen Pitcher has been a lay member of the Panel since 2009. In addition, Sir Anthony May (until 2011 President of the Queen’s Bench Division) and Frances Oldham QC (a senior barrister and a Deputy High Court Judge) are joining the Panel. They will replace Sir David Keene and Jean Ritchie QC who are also standing down at the end of their terms of office.
For further details please follow this link for the press release.
New Chair and Two New Members Appointed to the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel
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