Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as King's Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the law". They do not constitute a separate order or degree of lawyers. They are, however, more than merely a professional rank, as their status is conferred by the Crown and recognised by the courts.

History: Scotland

In Scotland, where the independent Bar is organised as the Faculty of Advocates and its members known not as barristers but as advocates, a separate roll of Queen's Counsel was created only in 1897, with the first appointed 1898. Before that year, the only QCs appointed in Scotland were the Lord Advocate and the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. There are now about one hundred QCs in practice in Scotland, about one-fifth of the practising Bar. They are in practice appointed on the recommendation of the Lord President of the Court of Session. In the 1990s, it became possible for solicitors with rights of audience in the Court of Session or High Court of Justiciary to apply for appointment, and two or three have done so.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Lord President - Court of Session - Solicitors

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