Attorney General's Panel of Counsel

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Myth Busting

There are a number of myths surrounding panel counsel appointments, we hope the below points will answer these.

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	Myth 1. Only Counsel From Certain Chambers Are Appointed
	Myth 2. Only Counsel From Certain Backgrounds Are Chosen
	Myth 3. Only Public Law Specialists Are Successful
	Myth 4. When You Are Appointed As Panel Counsel You Can No Longer Act Against Government
	Myth 5. I Can Only Get On The A or B panel If I Have Already Been On The C Panel
	Myth 6. My Panel Appointment Is Affected By Maternity Leave
	Myth 7. A Panel Counsel Applying For Re-Appointment Are Given Priority To B Panellists And Others
	Myth 8. I Do Not Seem To Be Getting Much Government Work, I Just Have To Grin And Bear It

Myth 1 Only Counsel From Certain Chambers Are Appointed

This is not true. Appointment to all the Attorney's panels is on merit and is conducted by fair and open competition.

As at 1 March 2013 there were 74 different sets of chambers with London panel counsel.

A Panel consists of 26 different sets of chambers, of which 5 sets have 5 or more members on the A Panel, and 12 sets have 1 A panel member.

B Panel consists of 49 different sets of chambers, of which 7 sets have 5 or more members on the B Panel, and 25 sets have 1 B panel member.

C Panel consists of 47 different sets of chambers, of which 9 sets have 5 or more members on the C Panel, and 21 sets have 1 C panel member.

The Regional Panel consists of 45 different sets of chambers, of which 10 sets have 5 or more members on the Regional Panel, and 13 sets have 1 panel member.

Myth 2 Only Counsel From Certain Backgrounds Are Chosen

The Attorney General appoints the best candidates solely on merit, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, disability, or the chambers at which they practise.

A very important criterion though is ability as an advocate and it was very important that referees can and do comment on advocacy performance.

The Attorney General has produced an Equality and Diversity Expectations Statement about how Chambers, whose members include existing or prospective panel counsel members, should act.

Myth 3 Only Public Law Specialists Are Successful

There is a variety of work available, not just in Public Law, to ensure the panels can meet the needs of Government. It is important therefore that the panels contain counsel with various specialisms. Equally important is that counsel are able to branch out into other areas of work if the need arises.

Myth 4 When You Are Appointed As Panel Counsel You Can No Longer Act Against Government

This is not true. We fully encourage counsel to maintain both a public and private practice, this includes acting against Government. It is beneficial to Government if counsel have had experience of acting against Government as we believe it makes them a better advocate as they have seen Governments arguments from the other side. Panel membership is also not infinite; we would therefore want to ensure that should your panel membership cease you would have a private practice to return to.

Myth 5 I Can Only Get On The A or B panel If I Have Already Been On The C Panel

We often hear, "but I can't apply for the B/A Panel as I have not been a member of the C/B Panel", this does not matter. Appointment is based on merit and the best candidates are those who are ultimately successful.

Myth 6 My Panel Appointment Is Affected By Maternity Leave

Appointments to the Panel are made for 5 years, if during this time counsel take maternity leave they can if they so choose apply to have their panel membership extended for a commensurate period of time. Extensions are also considered for any counsel that may have been away from chambers for some time and not undertaken advocacy. Counsels are therefore, not disadvantaged when it comes to making future applications. Additional time on the panel allows counsel time to undertake further advocacy work that will strengthen their application to the A or B panels.

Myth 7 A Panel Counsel Applying For Re-Appointment Are Given Priority To B Panellists And Others

Appointments to the Panels are made for 5 years, after which time counsel are required to apply for the next panel up, or if they are existing A Panel counsel they are required to re-apply. When existing A Panel Counsel re-apply they are not given priority, we operate a completely level playing field so all counsel (whether existing panel members or not) are all considered together. The highest scoring candidates and therefore the strongest candidates will ultimately be successful.

Myth 8 I Do Not Seem To Be Getting Much Government Work, I Just Have To Grin And Bear It

Although appointment to any Panel cannot be guarantee that work will be available, the intention is that each advocate appointed should be given at least a minimum amount of work. The volume of work Panel members receive will be monitored together with their performance. If a panel member wants more work either because they feel they are being overlooked or because a trial has collapsed and they are unexpectedly free then they or their clerks are welcome to contact TSol.