Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th September, many things we’ve taken for granted over her 70 year and 214 day reign are suddenly different. For one, we now have a King.
In most industries this might mean a new patron heading up a charitable organisation but for the Legal profession it’s quite different.
Whilst many issues around the law can take a long time to resolve, the Bar Council quickly clarified the change from QC to KC in a Tweet from September 8th.
As those tasked with updating Chambers’ websites and signage across the Inns have been kept very busy recently, we’ve been beavering away too to bring you some KC facts.
5 KC Facts
1. The first Queen’s Counsel Extraordinary was Sir Francis Bacon, who was given a patent giving him precedence at the Bar in 1597, and formally styled King’s Counsel in 1603.
2. The first woman appointed King’s Counsel was Helen Kinnear in Canada in 1934. The first women to be appointed as King’s Counsel in England and Wales were Helena Normanton and Rose Heilbron in 1949.
3. An award of King’s Counsel honoris causa (honorary KC) may be made to lawyers who have made a major contribution to the law of England and Wales but who operate outside court practice.
4. A number of British television shows have been based on the exploits of Queen’s Counsel, including the 1990s legal drama Kavanagh QC, and 2011s Silk, which follows a barrister on her quest to win the rank.
More recently, Michelle Dockery played a Queen’s Counsel prosecuting a politician accused of rape in the Netflix 2022 miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal.
5. Applicants for ‘Silk’ are assessed against key competencies, understanding and using the law, written and oral advocacy, working with others, diversity and integrity. Applications cost £2280, with successful applicants required to pay an additional £3840 as an “appointment fee”
Further Reading
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