Shah: Concerned about the lack of success of Black applicants
The appointments of 105 new King’s Counsel (see list here) were announced on Friday after the highest number of applications for 16 years – but the success rate continues to fall.
Figures from KC Appointments (KCA), the body that handles the process, showed that 327 applications were received in total, up 43 on the previous year and the highest by some distance since there were 333 in 2007/8.
Only 46% were interviewed, dropping below half for the first time in many years – in 2020, 63% of applicants were interviewed.
The overall success rate was 32%, the sixth year in a row it was lower than the year before, having been 45% in 2018 – although 70% of those interviewed were appointed.
A record 84 women applied, five higher than in 2023. The success rate was 39%, just one percentage point higher than 2023, which in turn was the lowest since 2006 and far below the all-time high of 63% recorded in 2021.
But it remained higher than for men, 30% of whom were appointed, down from 32% in 2023.
There was also a record number of applications from ethnic minority barristers (60, compared to the 2023 record of 48), although only 38% were interviewed, compared to 48% of White barristers.
Of them, 30% were appointed, a bit higher than in 2023 but well below the figures for the years before that. White applicants did a little better at 33%.
Though more Black barristers applied for silk than in any previous year (10), not one succeeded – the first time that has happened since 2018.
Eight of the 19 applicants (42%) who declared a disability were appointed, as was one of only five solicitors. None of the five employed advocates who applied were even interviewed.
Four in 10 applicants in 2024 had applied in at least one of the three previous competitions and their success rate of being interviewed and appointed was little different to first-timers.
Monisha Shah, chair of the KC selection panel, said: “I am particularly pleased to note the many successful applicants from a range of diverse backgrounds including minoritised communities and those with disabilities.
“However, we continue to be concerned about the lack of success of Black applicants and the challenges they face to demonstrate their excellence in the higher courts of England and Wales in the course of their careers.”
Bar Council chair Barbara Mills KC – the first Black person to hold the post – said: “We are pleased to see 17% of the new silks are from a minority ethnic background but it is concerning that this year none of the Black applicants was successful.
“There is a need to better understand the factors that impact the success of Black applicants, as well as ensuring the right support is available for those wishing to apply to demonstrate their excellence in advocacy…
“For employed barristers taking silk as a sign of career progression remains a key challenge given that the KC scheme is so heavily focused on advocacy. This is something that I will work closely with our employed barristers’ committee to explore.”
The fees involved in silk increased last year. It cost £2,100 to apply plus an appointment fee of £3,600 for those who were successful (plus VAT), in addition to the cost of Letters Patent.
Applicants with low earnings, defined as below £90,000 in fees for those at the self-employed Bar, pay half the standard fees. Eight applicants did so in 2024.
