THE notorious system of appointing Queen’s Counsel through “secret soundings” is to be ended under a modern accreditation system agreed by the profession’s elite.

In a deal to be announced this week by the Law Society and the Bar, QCs will be appointed by interview and there will be no more references from senior lawyers or judges.

Candidates will be able to provide references from clients, and the selection panel overseeing the system will be chaired by a non-lawyer and include non-lawyers among its members. Any unofficial cap on the number of silks — at present

10 per cent of the profession are QCs — will be scrapped and all lawyers who meet an agreed list of competencies will be chosen.

For the first time the new cadre of QCs will be accredited within a specialist area — criminal, civil or family — although they will be able to practise in other fields. They will be judged by such skills as advocacy ability, legal knowledge, integrity and ability to explain and give clear advice to clients.

Candidates would not be expected to be earning at least £200,000 a year before they can be considered, as they are now. The new scheme is expected to be open to applicants by Easter, with the first appointments next autumn.

The old scheme was suspended after a report from the Office of Fair Trading branded it uncompetitive and said that it should go.

However, in May the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, said that he agreed that the 400-year-old title of Queen’s Counsel should remain, but that the selection methods should be overhauled to open up appointments to more solicitors and ethnic minorities.

The old system was heavily criticised by the independent watchdog body the Commission for Judicial Appointments, which exposed cases where personal and subjective comments were taken into account when assessing candidates.

The title QC has always been a gateway to higher earnings and to status. It is regarded as the profession’s quality hallmark and is widely valued worldwide in attracting business to Britain’s commercial courts.

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