Login
High proportion of women get silk
Over one third of women who applied for silk at the NSW Bar this year were successful, with four women among the group of 20 appointees announced on Thursday by the President of the NSW Bar…
Lawyers Weekly
Over one third of women who applied for silk at the NSW Bar this year were successful, with four women among the group of 20 appointees announced on Thursday by the President of the NSW Bar Association, Tom Bathurst QC.
Women make up around 19 per cent of all barristers in New South Wales.
By contrast, 117 males applied, meaning the 16 appointees made up a total of 12.5 per cent of successful male applicants.
Peter Morris was the most senior barrister appointed to senior counsel, having served at the NSW Bar since 1980. Sandra Duggan was the most senior female appointee, first becoming a barrister in 1995. She is the former president of the NSW Environment and Planning Association.
Other appointees included Greg Curtin, who has previously criticised the "secretive" selection process in the past.
Under new selection criteria announced in May, those on the shortlist for appointment receive comments from a number of senior legal officers, including the Chief Justice of NSW, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia and the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia.
The NSW Bar Association said that Senior Counsel appointments provides the expectation that barristers will "provide outstanding service as advocates and advisers, to the good of the administration of justice".
The complete list of successful applicants are:
Mr Peter Mark MORRIS
Mr Anthony James BLACK
Mr Phillip Gerard INGRAM
Mr Garry William MCGRATH
Mr Stephen Scott HANLEY
Mr Geoffrey Thomas JOHNSON
Mr Gregory CURTIN
Mr Eric William Heales WILSON
Mr Richard Malcolm SCHONELL
Ms Sandra Anne DUGGAN
Mr Peter Sidney BRAHAM
Mr Andrew Phillip COLEMAN
Mr Murugan THANGARAJ
Ms Patricia Emily MCDONALD
Ms Elizabeth Ann COLLINS
Mr Adam Andrew HATCHER
Mr Hament Kumar DHANJI
Ms Gail Barton FURNESS
Mr Richard Austin CAVANAGH
Mr Geoffrey Ross KENNETT
