Rumpoled, QC’d The Attorney General has been busy “making up” the numbers with our silks. We saw this with the floodgates reopening in 2013 and 2014 or thereabouts.
As I’ve said before, mostly these appointees are from the big law firms, as it is a near mandatory requirement that to take silk you need to have spent a considerable time in a large law firm, mostly as partner.
Of course there are exceptions, but they are few. Additionally, criminal law and family and resources management tend to be treated slightly differently.
The list of requirements to become a QC is very long, and the Attorney General carefully applies them except when he does not.
So in 2013 and 2014 every large law firm was represented by a former partner being made a QC. That included appointees who were from Phillip Fox, Buddley Findlay and Kensington Swan and of course from Bell Gully. Indeed during those years most of the lawyers were from Bells.
We also had Mathew Muir in Auckland appointed. He was from Buddle, and hardly practised in the last five years as he and his friend were handling property development in Sydney. He is now a High Court Judge as we all know.
There was also appointments from Richmond Chambers, repository of dear Julian Miles who may well enjoy playing king maker
over there given his kudos, which would put the cat among the pigeon at Shortland Chambers and Bankside Chambers as you might imagine.
If you read the bios of the people at these chambers you will see that, first, there are mostly retirement villages for former solicitors from large firms, but, more importantly the individuals there are each possessed of enormous intellect and are depriving NASA of a whole in-take of rocket scientists.
Next, factor in that last time a great many people probably thanked Jim Farmer as their sponsor to becoming QC. There is actually no provision for “sponsor” in the application form, however, the word was used descriptive of his assistance. So, Jim
likely would have chucked unquestioned his weight to the scenario.
The AG it seems decided to appoint fewer because he thinks that way he will not be either flooding the market, debasing the currency, or both.
So, he gave the whole silk thing a hair cut. He appointed one last month under the prerogative because he has a mania about doing that. He then appointed a woman because we always need to have one appointed, as you well know.
Then he appointed one who is maintenance of the established basis on which the judiciary is appointed – a former large firm partner. It also pays due homage to the esteem and high regard the profession has for absolutely anyone who has been or is a partner of a large law firm, or who worked at one for a while.
Now let’s remind ourselves of the criteria that apply except when the AG choses not to apply it. On this round the Attorney General said:- “The appointment to the rank of Queen’s Counsel recognises independent advocates who have excelled at the highest level of law.”
That would assume the Mark O’Brien for instance has been at the bar for sometime and has done a lot of cases.
I don’t however believe either is quite correct.
Our new QC has been at the independent bar only since 2013. And, if you read his bio on his own web sites you can see he has appeared in court infrequently. The big case he refers to was one where he juniored to the aforesaid Jim Farmer QC. Doubtless he is a capable lawyer, but it seems to Rumpoled that much of the rest of stuff is kind of rats and mice chambers applications and the like. We all do that, don’t we? Mind you, I’m QC’d too.
Which leads me to looking at an example of why some make it and some don’t.
Next week, eh?
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