MoJ anoints three women in eight-strong honorary silk list

It comes as the QC appointments committee unveiled the names of 84 barristers who will take silk this year in a reduced round (27 February 2012).

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the Queen had approved the eight honorary silk appointments, a list that is compiled by the Government after nominations from the public.

The other appointees are: University College London’s Professor Ian Fletcher; the Oxford Law Faculty’s Professor Mark Freedland; Doughty Street Chambers’ Professor Geraldine Van Bueren; 18 Red Lion Court’s Professor David Ormerod; and Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution deputy chief executive Eileen Carroll.

Details of the selection panel and its approach are kept under wraps. The Lawyer revealed last year that the honored silks themselves are unclear as to the selection process (12 March 2012).

This year’s round is larger than last year’s, when five lawyers and academics were awarded the title, including Clyde & Co senior partner Michael Payton and Bindmans head of public law and human rights Stephen Grosz.

The honorary silks for 2013 are:

Edward Walker-Arnott was admitted as a solicitor in 1963, he was senior partner of legacy Herbert Smith, where he remains a consultant. He has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including the creation, initial listing and subsequent development of Eurotunnel and advising Maxwell Communications following the death of Robert Maxwell. In 1999 he was made a fellow of University College London and became a visiting professor at the university, where he still lectures.

Baroness Deech was called to the bar in 1967. She is a legal academic in family law and a former principal of St Anne’s College, Oxford. She was a trustee of the Rhodes Scholarships from 1997 to 2006, a governor of the BBC from 2002 to 2006 and the first independent adjudicator for Higher Education from 2004 to 2008. An active member of the House of Lords, she is a member of the Select Committee on Communications and has been chair of the Bar Standards Board since 2009.

Stefan Cross was admitted as a solicitor in 1985. He has worked widely in the area of equal pay law. Cross fought for equal pay rights for women on a no-win, no-fee basis. He brought about substantial changes for several hundred thousand women and as a result of his work more than £1bn has been paid to low-paid women. The lawyer, who is a named partner of his own firm, worked on 44 reported equal pay cases and has also championed the cause of low-paid men. (For more see 21 January 2008).

Eileen Carroll was admitted as a solicitor in 1981. She is currently deputy chief executive of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). She helped to establish mediation in the civil justice system during the last 22 years and was one of the UK’s first commercial mediators. As a partner in an international law firm she was the key founder of CEDR. She also founded the first commercial mediator training course. As well as contributing to the leadership role at CEDR, she works as a senior mediation practitioner and is regularly called upon by large UK and overseas organisations to resolve disputes through mediation, including the US Department for State, the BBC and global banks.

Professor Ian Fletcher was called to the bar in 1971 and was elected as a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 2003. He has held a long career in the field of comparative insolvency law and international co-operation in insolvency law and cases. He is emeritus professor in the Faculty of Laws at University College London and was elected as an international fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy in 2008. He has also played a leading role in work commissioned by the American Law Institute and International Insolvency Institute, developing principles for co-operation in international insolvency cases. His report on this is being disseminated to courts, practitioners and legislators throughout the world as a basis for the conduct of international insolvency cases.

Professor Mark Freedland was called to the bar in 1971. He is a bencher of Gray’s Inn and an honorary member of 3 Verulam Buildings. He is currently a senior research fellow at the Oxford Law Faculty and its Institute of European and Comparative Law. He was elected a fellow of the British Academy in 2001 and has provided studies for the European Commission and the International Labour Organisation on data protection in employment and employment protection legislation. He has recently been made an honorary professor in the Faculty of Laws at University College London, where he was once a law student.

Professor Geraldine Van Bueren

is a professor of international human rights law at Queen Mary, London, and a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. She is one of the original drafters of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - the world’s most ratified human rights treaty. She has served as lead commissioner for human rights on the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a bencher of the Middle Temple.

Professor David Ormerod was called to the bar in 2002 and is a door tenant at 18 Red Lion Court. He holds a number of editorial positions including editor of the Criminal Law Review. He is a member of the education committee of the Criminal Bar Association and the Criminal Justice Council and recently assisted the Judicial Studies Board in drafting their Crown Court Bench Book (2010).