UK Law Articles
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The Times
March 27 1997
First solicitors appointed QCs
BY FRANCES GIBB, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
TWO solicitors have become the first from their profession to be appointed Queen's Counsel.
Arthur Marriott, a partner with the London office of the American law firm Wilmer Cutler and Pickering, and Lawrence Collins, 55, a partner with the City law firm Herbert Smith, can now not only put QC after their names but wear wigs in court. They were among the 68 new QCs announced today, an appointment that has by tradition been a passport to higher earnings.
Mr Marriott, 53, a specialist in commercial arbitration and an assistant recorder, who charges up to £400 an hour, denied that his fees would now increase. "I think lawyers charge enough anyway probably too much," he said. Dr Collins, who practises in commercial and intellectual property law, said he hoped the honour would bring a wider range of interesting work. Both men have qualified as higher court advocates under the requirements that solicitors must meet if they want to appear in the higher courts alongside barristers. In the wake of solicitors being granted the right to appear in the higher courts, the Lord Chancellor said they could also apply for silk. Tony Girling, president of the Law Society, said he hoped more solicitors would now be appointed as judges.
