The accession of King Charles III to the throne heralds immediate changes for the legal profession.
Originally published: Catherine Baksi, Thursday September 15 2022, 12.01am BST, The Times
King Charles, with the Queen Consort, at the Palace of Westminster this week addressing both Houses of Parliament
The death last week of the monarch — in whose name justice is done and laws are passed — has already triggered changes for the legal profession.
Prosecutions went from being brought in the name of the Queen, Regina, to the King, Rex, and the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court became the King’s Bench. However, the Queen’s Building at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, opened by Queen Elizabeth II, will keep its name.
The first judgment promulgated in the name of the King is understood to have been in the case of Saverio Zirilli v The King in the Court of Appeal in Victoria, in Australia. However, rumour has it that judgment may just have been pipped at the post by one from the Papakura District Court in New Zealand delivered by it’s resident Judge some hours beforehand.
For nearly 2,000 Queen’s Counsel in England and Wales, it meant an immediate change in suffix, to King’s Counsel. The last surviving KC appointed by King George VI, according to the archivist at Inner Temple, was the law lord Baron Simon of Glaisdale, who died in 2006. He joined the Inns of Court regiment in the Second World War, returning to legal practice in 1946 and was appointed King’s Counsel in 1951.
As government law officers are given the rank, Edward Timpson, who was appointed solicitor-general in July before being sacked two months later, was the last person to become a QC. When he is sworn in, his successor, Michael Tomlinson, will be the first new KC since the reign of George VI.
Within half an hour of the announcement of the Queen’s death, the chairman of the Bar Council — the body that represents barristers in England and Wales — published a tribute that was signed off with his altered suffix: Mark Fenhalls KC.
On Twitter, some silks exercised similar efficiency in altering their names, which, said John Machell KC, was “a mundane and unimportant task in itself, but poignant and affecting”.
Others suggested that he had displayed unseemly haste in affecting the change. Henry Grunwald KC tweeted that his Twitter account “will remain @HCGQC out of deep respect for the Queen”.
Simon Spence KC tells The Times that the sudden change from QC had “a surprisingly profound emotional and psychological impact”. However, he suggests there is nothing disrespectful about making the change, which reflects the unbroken line of succession.
Spence points out that with a king and two male heirs in the Prince of Wales and Prince George of Wales, it is highly unlikely that silks will be required to change their letters for generations to come.
Matthew Ryder KC tweeted to ask: “Can’t we just be ‘Senior Counsel’?” After 70 years, Chris Daw KC agrees that now is the time for a debate about introducing a degree of modernisation, and adoption of Senior Counsel, as has happened in Ireland, Australia and some other Commonwealth countries.
Daw insists that he “doesn’t want a new French revolution”, but suggests that an appointment system that is entirely separated from the monarchy is more appropriate in the modern age.
Barristers’ chambers have been swift to alter websites, but entrance signs may take longer and could be expensive for bigger sets. The Times understands that the wooden name boards favoured by some cost about £100 per slat.
The four Inns of Court have opened books of condolence and fly Union Flags at half-mast. Along with the chairman of the Bar Council and president of the Law Society, their representatives have written messages of condolence to the royal family.
The Criminal Bar Association has organised for barristers to gather at the Old Bailey at 4pm today and walk, wearing robes and mourning attire, to Gray’s Inn chapel to lay a wreath.
In other acts of modern mourning, the Bar Council and judiciary have temporarily changed their Twitter logos to black background.
Courts have remained open, observing a two-minute silence on the day that followed the Queen’s death. They will be closed on the day of the state funeral, except for urgent hearings, with cases listed either side of the service where possible.
Strike action by criminal barristers in dispute with the government over legal aid rates continues, but planned gatherings outside courts have been cancelled. And an initial meeting between Kirsty Brimelow KC, the chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, and the newly appointed justice secretary and lord chancellor, Brandon Lewis, has been postponed to September 20.
During her 70-year reign the Queen had 21 lord chancellors. The first was Baron Simonds and the last was Lewis.
Historically, during periods of national mourning, barristers were required to wear mourning bands — normal bands folded over to make pleats and appear darker. Silks and judges also wore “weepers”, detachable long cuffs for dabbing away tears.
The late Sir Henry Brooke, a retired Court of Appeal judge, wrote in 2017 that the practice was last seen in 1991 following the death of King Olav V of Norway, the last surviving grandchild of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Guidance sent to judges from the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, states that court mourning dress is not required. Yet the brisk trade in mourning garb reported by legal outfitter Ede & Ravenscroft and Ivy & Normanton, an online seller of women’s legal attire, suggests there is a strong appetite to continue the tradition.
Anand Beharrylal KC says that the “proper way” for barristers and judges to honour the late Queen is to follow the tradition of wearing court mourning dress and “pay tribute to her in a manner unique to the legal profession”.
He says: “The close of this second Elizabethan era should be marked in more than just words.”