News - News - Reform of the Appointment of Qcs

From July 2005 the way our QCs will be appointed has been radically overhauled. The scheme will be run by the Bar Council and the Law Society through the new independent selection panel.

Under the selection criteria it is hoped that many more solicitors, women and ethnic minority candidates are likely to apply. Only eight solicitors have successfully applied for silk since 1996, when they became eligible for higher court advocacy rights out of a potential 2,500. There are few women silks and even fewer black minority ethnic.

An Applicant will now have to pay £1,800 fees to apply and once successful in the applications and made a QC will pay a further £2,250.

The scheme will be based on advocacy, both oral and written. Assessment is by applicants stating how they meet seven competency criteria:integrity; understanding and use of the law; analysing case material to develop arguments; persuading or communicating arguments; responding to the unfolding of the case, and working with the client and working in a team. They also need to provide referees who have encountered them at work, including from clients or

The referees will be interviewed by phone and the candidate will have a face-to-face interview with two members of the nine-member selection panel and a human resources expert. Here the panel will look for evidence of “client care” or “people skills” and an understanding of diversity and cultural issues. The selection panel members, chosen through open competition, will be trained for this task. After interview, the panel grades the candidate, then the full selection panel reviews the initial grades. There is a collective moderation and scrutiny of borderline cases before a final list is made.

The most radical of the changes is that the panel will also have power to strip a candidate of his award although this does not affect QCs appointed prior to the new changes.

 The final list of candidates goes to the Lord Chancellor, then to the Queen.

The Law Society forced these radical changes because of its refusal to take part in further appointments since 2003. The new QCs will be known in July 2006.

THE SYSTEM

· Applicants in 2003 (last year of the old scheme): 394

·Awards of silk: 121

· Men: 112 awards out of 355 applications; women 9 of 39

· People from ethnic minorities: seven awards out of 23

· Solicitors: one award out of ten applications

· Average earnings of QCs appointed: £246,274 (earnings is no longer a criterion under new scheme)