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Victorian Bar welcomes 23 new silks
The Victorian Bar has welcomed the appointment of 23 new senior counsel.
Tom Lodewyke
The appointments were made by Chief Justice of Victoria Anne Ferguson on Thursday, following a consultation process that involved the Victorian Bar, the broader profession and the judiciary.
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Of the 69 men who applied, 18 (26 per cent) were successful. Five of the 16 women (31 per cent) were successful.
Victorian Bar president Dr Matt Collins QC congratulated the new senior counsel.
“We warmly congratulate Victoria’s newest silks,” he said.
“These new appointments recognise exceptional leadership and excellence at our Bar.
“Our new silks are of the highest calibre and their appointments recognise their skill and achievements.
“Today’s appointees come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience and are a mark of the increasing diversity of the Bar.
“We are pleased to see the number of women applying for silk increasing, and our membership increasingly reflecting the composition of the community we serve.”
Dr Collins also thanked Chief Justice Ferguson and her predecessor, Marilyn Warren AC, for their leadership.
“The Victorian Bar is very grateful for the involvement of the Chief Justice and her Court in the process of appointing senior counsel, and pays tribute to the former Chief Justice, the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC, for her leadership in the appointment of silks over many years,” he said.
“The Bar also thanks the senior members of our Bar, the Law Institute of Victoria and senior members of the profession for their support and assistance in the rigorous process by which candidates are evaluated.
“I am confident that the silks appointed today will further strengthen the Bar’s reputation as the leading source of independent, strategic legal advice, analysis and advocacy.”
Victoria’s newest silks are: William Guy Gilbert, Mark John Gibson, Marcus Clarke, Paul Lawrence Ehrlich, Michael Wolf Wise, Paul James Hayes, Craig William Dowling, Scott William Stuckey, Michael Geoffrey Rees Gronow, Garry John Fitzgerald, Julian Paul McMahon AC, Scott Robert Johns, Suresh Rajkumar Senathirajah, Minal Vohra, David Joseph Nicolas Purcell, Mark Anthony Irving, Stephen Howard Parmenter, Claire Michelle Harris, Robert Andrew Heath, Lisa Michelle Nichols, Sally Amanda Flynn, Stewart John Maiden and Lisabella Gianna De Ferrari.
