Victorian Chief Justice Marilyn Warren has appointed 20 new Senior Counsel today, three of whom are women.
The women appointed include Suzanne McNicol, Aileen Ryan and Carolyn Sparke. There were 71 silk applications all up, 66 from men and five from women.
In Victoria, the gap between male and female barrister is wide with 1,411 male barristers compared to just 471 female barristers according to the Victoria Bar.
NSW recently appointed a record number of female silks, with 12 of the 26 barrister appointed female. Women account for less than 20% of female barrister in the state, according to Lawyers Weekly.
Justice Warren said in a statement that the group represented a wide-cross-section of advocates. “The appointees were selected after a wide and demanding consultative process involving the higher courts and tribunals, the Victorian Bar and the Law Institute and other senior members of the legal profession”, she said.
The silks will be welcomed during a ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court on 7 December. See the full list.