The number of applicants for Queen's Counsel (QC) plummeted by more than a third this year to 247, down from 333 in the 2006 competition and 443 in 2005, according to figures released last week by the independent selection panel.


Just 29 women and 15 ethnic minority candidates submitted applications in this year's round - compared to 51 women and 22 non-white candidates in the previous round, and 66 women and 24 non-whites in 2005.



Only four solicitors applied in the current round - compared to six in 2006 and 12 in 2005. Of 98 successful candidates in the last round, just one solicitor was appointed, compared with four in 2005.



The selection process for appointing silks, previously carried out by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, now the Ministry of Justice, was suspended in 2003 while new competition procedures were put in place. The new process is intended to be entirely self-funding and costs individuals £2,500 to apply, with a further £3,500 appointment fee if successful.



Law Society chief executive Des Hudson said: 'In the past solicitors have felt themselves disappointed by the application process for QCs. The new scheme developed and operated jointly by the Law Society and the Bar Council was designed to be fair to applicants from all professional backgrounds.'



He added that, rather than establish a separate, equivalent quality mark for solicitor-advocates - as suggested by some lawyers - the legal profession should focus on ensuring barristers and solicitors compete on a level playing field.



Tim Lawson-Cruttenden, chairman of the Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates, said: 'Being a silk is not that important for solicitors, it's not that relevant and not seen as part of our career progression in the same way that it is for the bar.'



But Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, solicitor advocate and member of the QC selection panel, said: 'The QC mark is a global brand that would help anybody's practice. I hope solicitors don't think that they would be disadvantaged [in the selection process] because they are not barristers, because that's not the case.'



It is anticipated the successful candidates will be notified in early 2009.



Catherine Baksi