Futurologist Richard Susskind - who speculated on the demise of the legal profession in his 2008 book The End of Lawyers? - is among nine people to be named today as honorary King’s Counsel. The announcment accompanied the naming of barristers and solicitors who will formally take silk next year. Of the 95 names, 31 are women. It is understood that only one solicitor made a successful application: Mike McClure, head of the Seoul office of international firm Herbert Smith Freehills. 

Announcing the awards, KC Appointments said that title of KC is awarded to those who have demonstrated particular skill and expertise in the conduct of advocacy. ’Honorary KCs are awarded to those who have made a major contribution to the law of England and Wales, outside practice in the courts.’

The honorary KCs are: 

  • John Battle, head of legal and compliance at broadcaster ITN and a leader in the campaign to allow the filming of court proceedings.
  • Lionel Bently, professor of intellectual property law at the University of Cambridge and author of Intellectual Property Law. 
  • Richard Ekins, professor of law and constitutional government at the University of Oxford. Since 2015, he has led thinktank Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project.
  • Rosemary Hunter, professor of law and socio-legal studies at the University of Kent and an academic member of the Family Justice Council. 
  • Dr Ann Olivarius, an American British lawyer who has been at the forefront of the fight against image-based sexual abuse and privacy violations. 
  • Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE is recognised for his work promoting technology and innovation in legal and court services across England and Wales.
  • James Wakefield was instrumental in establishing the Council of the Inns of Court as a charity and founding the Inns of Court College of Advocacy. 
  • Julian Vincent Roberts, emeritus professor of criminology at the University of Oxford, is a leading academic authority in England and Wales on sentencing theory, policy, and practice.
  • Sir Michael Wood is a long-serving member of the UN International Law Commission. He is honoured for making an invaluable and lasting contribution to international law as it is taught and applied in the UK and beyond. 

The lord chancellor will formally bestow the titles at an appointment ceremony at Westminster Hall on 27 March. 

 

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