On Tuesday 30th July I was deeply honoured to be sworn in before the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Royal Courts of Justice in London as one of Her Majesty’s Queen’s Counsel.
The Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand in central London is the home of the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
In a ceremony in front of the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls, the Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court and a large number of other senior Judges and senior representatives of the judiciary and legal profession I took two separate oaths as both the Solicitor General and as a Queen’s Counsel.
I swore the oaths wearing the full ceremonial robes of a QC, including buckled shoes, stockings and knee breeches, a silk gown and a long wig.
A Queen’s Counsel is a lawyer who is appointed by the monarch to be one of “Her Majesty’s Counsel Learned in the Law”. This honour is normally reserved for the country’s top lawyers and is an honour given to Solicitors General and Attorneys General.
We have a truly superb legal system and profession in this country which is admired and respected around the world as the best there is- it is a system which administers justice without fear or favour, which is impeccably fair, neutral and honest and entirely without the smallest hint of bias. In international contracts around the world contracting parties frequently agree to be bound by the Law of England and Wales because of the respect with which our system is held. This is because of its people; I know first-hand how devoted our judges, barristers and solicitors are to serving with the utmost devotion and integrity.