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ASSESSMENT FORM
The electronic assessment form may be downloaded from the Information for Assessors page.
This site contains information about the process for the award of Queen's Counsel. It provides information to applicants, assessors (formerly referees) and others during a competition. It also provides information about completed competitions run by the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel. It is updated regularly. Recommendations for the award of Queen’s Counsel are made by the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel. The Selection Panel is supported by its own Secretariat. We aim to serve the public interest by offering a fair and transparent means of identifying excellence in advocacy in the higher courts of England and Wales. ____________________________________Applications for the award of Queen’s Counsel in 2008 We are now in the process of seeking assessments on applicants. This is expected to continue until June or July 2008.
We expect to seek information regarding applicant availability for interviews in June or July and interviews are expected to be held in October and November. Applicants are unlikely to learn whether they have been called to interview before late September.____________________________________Queen’s Counsel Selection PanelThe Bar Council and the Law Society of England and Wales have, with regret, accepted the resignation of Sir Duncan Nichol as Chairman of the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel following his appointment as Chairman of the Court service Board. The resignation takes effect from 3 April 2008, the closing date for applications in the current competition. They would like to thank Sir Duncan for his skill and commitment in developing and giving effect to the revised procedure for appointing Queen’s Counsel over the last three years.In order to minimise any impact on the current competition, and the potential delay of recruiting a new lay Chairman, the Professions have invited Baroness (Elizabeth) Butler-Sloss GBE, to act as interim Chair of the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel until the end of the current competition. The Bar Council and the Law Society plan to hold an open recruitment process in the autumn to select a new lay Chairman for the Selection Panel for the future. Although the Panel Chair should normally be a lay member, it is more important to avoid disruption to the current competition, and the potential delay of recruiting a new lay Chairman. This arrangement has the further advantage of ensuring that the number of Panel members to consider applications is maintained without the need to introduce a new and inexperienced member part way through a competition. Elizabeth Butler-Sloss (a former President of the Family Division) has been a member of the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel since 2005, but stood done from the Panel in December 2007. The Professions are grateful to her for agreeing to return to chair the Panel on an interim basis to secure the successful outcome of the current competition.
Applicants should have been informed directly.Any enquires should be directed to the Secretariat, whose details can be found in the Contacts page.
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Queen’s Counsel Appointments is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (Company Registration No. 05423088). The registered office is: 3rd Floor, Totara Park House, 34-36 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8HR