The Law Society has claimed that the appointment of only one of the 10 solicitors who applied for silk is evidence of a ‘worrying trend’.

Following last week’s announcement of 129 new QCs, Chancery Lane said it was a ‘matter of great concern’ that the success ratio for solicitors was significantly down. In 2009, three of the four solicitors who applied were successful.

This year George Trinick, an energy partner at national firm Eversheds, was the only solicitor appointed.

Law Society chief executive Des Hudson said: ‘The Society is disappointed that the Queen’s Counsel Appointments [panel] has failed to broaden the scheme rules to recognise that excellence is more than merely oral advocacy in the higher courts.’

Employed barristers as well as solicitor-advocates suffer because the appointment process places certain categories of candidate at a disadvantage, Hudson said. ‘The figures do not reflect the number of outstanding solicitor-advocates that exist or the excellence of the profession. We will be watching future rounds closely,’ he added.