Seventeen new family law QCs appointed

The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of 17 new family law Queen's Counsel today.

The number of family QC appointments has almost tripled from the six silks selected in 2010. This year 1 Hare Court chambers secured the most number of appointments with three of their barristers to become QCs while two barristers at both 4 Paper Buildings and 29 Bedford Row were selected. 

A number of the new appointments have published with Family Law including Alistair MacDonald who has written Rights of the Child, The Law and Practice, which will be published this month.

Not a single family law solicitor was included among the 120 QCs appointments. However, only five solicitors applied to take silk compared with ten solicitors who applied in 2010 when only one applicant was successful.

Two-thirds of all female applicants were successful, however relatively few female advocates are putting themselves forward for consideration for QC. The proportion of successful applicants that declared an ethnic origin other than white broadly reflected their proportions at the Bar, according to the QC Selection Panel.

Alongside the advocates being appointed QC, six new Honorary QCs have also been approved by the Lord Chancellor. Honorary silk status was awarded to Geoffrey Bindman, founder of London firms Bindmans: Monty Raphael, former senior partner at London firm Peters & Peters; and Stuart Popham, former senior partner at magic circle firm Clifford Chance.

Applications closed on 22 April 2010 and the Selection Panel delivered recommendations to the Secretary of State for Justice on 14 December 2010.

Full list of family law QC appointments

Simon Lloyd Bickler - St Paul's Chambers
Timothy Harper Paul Bishop - 1 Hare Court
Barbara Winifred Connolly - Seven Bedford Row
Tina Gail Cook - 42 Bedford Row
Katharine Mary Davidson - 1 Hare Court
Nkumbe Ekaney - Albion Chambers
Rex Andrew Howling - 4 Paper Buildings
Gwynneth Frances Knowles - Atlantic Chambers
Stewart Leech - Queen Elizabeth Building
Alistair William Orchard MacDonald - St Philips Chambers
Sarah Mary Morgan - 1 Garden Court Family Law
Leslie John Samuels - Pump Court Chambers
Howard Shaw - 29 Bedford Row Chambers
Christopher David Wagstaffe - 29 Bedford Row Chambers
Jeremy Paul Weston - St Ive's Chambers
John Armstrong Wilson - 1 Hare Court
Catherine Wood - 4 Paper Buildings