Clifford Chance's Popham becomes honorary QC as 120 take silk
Clifford Chance’s former senior partner Stuart Popham has been made an honorary QC in this year’s silks appointments round.
Stuart Popham
A total of 118 barristers and two solicitor advoctaes have been appointed silk, Lord Chancellor and justice secretary Kenneth Clarke announced this morning.
The successful applicants include 3 Verulam Buildings’ Sonia Tolaney, previously tipped as a star in the making in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2010.
Solicitor advocate David Price, who secured victory in the Supreme Court’s landmark ’honest comment’ decision in December 2010 (1 December 2010), was also made a QC.
The 120 new silks represent 48 per cent of the 251 who applied. A total of 41 women applied for silk and 27 were successful.
Selection panel chair Professor Dame Joan Higgins said “relatively few” women were putting themselves forward, but the high success rate sent a “positive signal” to all suitably qualified female advocates.
Twelve of the new silks said they were of an ethnic origin other than white. Although this is a smaller number than the 17 new black and minority ethnic silks appointed in 2010, the success rate of 60 per cent of applicants was higher than last year.
Five solicitor-advocates applied for silk, making the success rate 40 per cent compared to 10 per cent (one from 10 applicants) in 2010.
A total of six honorary silks have been appointed. Joining Popham are human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman of Bindmans, Peters & Peters consultant Monty Raphael, First Parliamentary Counsel Sir Stephen Laws, Master Roger Venne, who is master of the Crown Office, and Edinburgh University academic and Cloisters Chambers member Professor Anthony Bradley.
The list of new silks in full is as follows:
Michael James Royston Ashcroft
Richard Paul Atkins
Ali Naseem Bajwa
Manuel David Barca
Fiona Barton
Daniel Matthew Beard
Jason Beer
Philip James Bennetts
Simon Lloyd Bickler
Edward James Bishop
Timothy Harper Paul Bishop
Paul Simon Bogan
Richard Edward Stanley Boulton
Janine Kirsty Brimelow
Simon Peter Buchanan Browne
Nicholas David Caddick
Sara Elizabeth Cockerill
Stephen William Cogley
Benjamin Edward Compton
Barbara Winifred Connolly
Adam Michael Constable
Tina Gail Cook
Rosina Cottage
Simon Csoka
Katharine Mary Davidson
Glen Milton Davis
Joel Donovan
James Frederick Drake
Simon Patrick Drew
Michael Charles Duck
Tim Eicke
Nkumbe Ekaney
Gillian Felicity Amanda Etherton
Judith Sarah Farbey
Michael Neil Gibbon
Lisa Caterina Giovannetti
Simon Anthony Gorton
Eleanor Mary Grace Grey
Samuel Marc Grodzinski
Paul Best Harris
Alexandra Healy
Javan William Herberg
Jonathan Alexander Cameron Higgs
Patricia Ann Hitchcock
David Moore Holland
Rex Andrew Howling
Theodore David Huckle
Simon David Hughes
Martin Anthony Hutchings
Barry Russell Isaacs
Jeremy Charles Johnson
Christopher George Johnston
Gregory Jones
Daniel Simon Suzman Jowell
Phillippa Jane Kaufmann
Kalyani Kaul
Adrian Francis Keeling
Karim Asad Ahmad Khan
Tahir Zaffar Khan
Gwynneth Frances Knowles
Julian Bernard Knowles
Francis Joseph Laird
Ian Douglas Lawrie
Eleanor Jane Laws
Simon Reginald Laws
Stewart Leech
Ian Douglas Leist
David Anthony Lock
Alistair William Orchard MacDonald
Peter John Sibley MacDonald Eggers
Michael Magarian
Paul Anthony McGrath
John Vincent Barry McLinden
Simon Edward Medland
Poonam Arjandas Melwani
Rajiv Menon
Andrew Edward Mitchell
Vincent John Moran
Richard Hugo Lyndon Morgan
Sarah Mary Morgan
Timothy Francis Morshead
Keith Farrance Morton
Peter Charles Edward Moulson
William Howard Moulsey
James Malachi Mulholland
Andrew Richard Oldland
Anthony Edward Orchard
Fiona Jane Parkin
Rohan Anthony Pershad
Sarah Georgina Plaschkes
David Wallace Platt
Lewis Niall Power
David Jack Price
Christopher John Quinlan
Eason Thurai Rajah
Jennifer Richards
Paul Anthony Wellington Russell
Simon Lopez Salzedo
Leslie John Samuels
Oliver Leon Segal
Howard Shaw
Clive David Sheldon
Nicolas Kyd Stallworthy
Paul David Stinchcombe
Mark Sutton
Timothy Hugh Christian Taylor
Bernard Tetlow
Robert Owain Philip Thomas
Amanda Jane Tipples
Sonia Tolaney
Felicity Rosalind Toube
Andrew Mark Twigger
Christopher David Wagstaffe
Andrew Paul Dalton Walker
Timothy Justin Ward
Jeremy Paul Weston
John Justin Whitting
John Armstrong Wilson
Catherine Wood
Amanda Louise Yip
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Readers' comments (13)
Gatsby | 1-Mar-2011 2:12 pm
Good for him. A truer gent would be hard to find in the City
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mary | 1-Mar-2011 4:29 pm
Hmmmm, still not a very diverse list. Will the upper echelons of the bar always be peopled by white men???? Well done to everyone none the less. Even Mr Popham! He's not even a litigator is he???
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Anonymous | 1-Mar-2011 4:37 pm
It doesn't look like the revised silk appointments process is really making much difference in the diversity stakes, does it? Several years in and no huge improvement - particularly in application numbers.
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Vercingetorix | 1-Mar-2011 5:38 pm
Did Popham have to apply for this?
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John | 2-Mar-2011 10:04 am
Diversity, diversity, diversity. Can't think of anything intelligent to say? No, let's make a sarcastic comment about diversity then.
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Chris | 3-Mar-2011 11:25 am
Diversity can only occur if the pool of applicants is diverse. To say that the revised silk appointments isn't making much difference because of a lack of diversity is unreflective of the fact that they pool of applicants is not diverse.
The real problem with diversity harks back far further than the silk appointments. To address it, we need to look at our education system and the diversity of individuals with the ability to succeed at the Bar.
That said, the Bar now ranks pretty well in the diversity stakes. One would, therefore, expect to see more "diverse" silk appointments as the system filters itself.
On another note - diversity should not play a part in silk appointments. This isn't a box ticking exercise. It shouldn't matter if you're black, brown, blue, green or white. If you have the ability and meet the criteria - it is likely you will make the grade.
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jackie and jack sheldon | 3-Mar-2011 6:59 pm
congratulations to our son Clive Sheldon on his appointment as QC
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Sharan Kaur | 4-Mar-2011 9:37 pm
Congratulations to all. Good to see some ethnic minorities (albeit unreflective of the number at the Bar) in the list of names.
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Judith Quinn | 5-Mar-2011 5:04 pm
Many Congratulations to Stephen William Cogley on taking silk.
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KSD | 6-Mar-2011 4:08 pm
I was at Bar School with Ali Bajwa. It was pretty obvious the (1992) that he was something special and destined for Silk. He was a lovely guy, very modest and very very gifted. Well done, richly deserved.
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