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| Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC |
It is unusual to have a self-abolitionist in The Hot 100, but Lord Falconer, as well as being appointed to resolve that law students' conundrum, "is it okay to have a Lord Chancellor who is a cabinet member and also appoints the judiciary?", with a resounding "no" has done so much more than this since his shock appointment in June.
In July, he set to work on the creation of a new Supreme Court to replace the House of Lords. He further unsettled the judges with plans to set up a career judiciary, incorporating proposals to promote some lawyers, including those employed by the Government, to the bench in their thirties.
Alarming the legal profession, he announced comprehensive plans for increased competition in legal services, including permitting solicitors to combine their businesses with banks, accountants and estate agents and to raise equity on the capital markets. He then unsettled the Law Society, long pilloried for its problems with handling complaints against solicitors, with the creation of the new role of Legal Services Complaints Commissioner in September.
Unsurprisingly, Lord Falconer has attracted criticism from all quarters, most notably from the Earl of Onslow, who declaimed that Falconer's new role amounted to the Government playing "Pooh-sticks" with centuries of British History.
In July, Falconer did end centuries of history by eschewing the normal Lord Chancellor's swearing-in ceremony garb of embroidered gown, wig and buckled shoes for a plain black morning suit. And very smart he looked.
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The Hot100
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