By Maria Ward-Brennan
Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk MP announced the appointments of 95 new King’s Counsel today, which included one solicitor advocate from City law firm Withers.
Hussein Haeri was named in the Lord Chancellor’s list today, as the only non-barrister that will receive the KC title.
A KC is a very senior barrister or solicitor advocate who is recognised as an expert and leader in their legal field. A KC will often take the lead on cases, particularly highly complex cases which demand greater experience and expertise.
Based in London, he is a partner in Withers international arbitration and public international law teams, he is also the co-head of the Middle East group.
He has been at the firm for over nine years, before that he had experience at Signature Litigation, Eversheds Sutherland and Latham & Watkins.
He is a solicitor-advocate of the senior courts of England and Wales, as well as has experience working on legal matters in London, Paris, New York and South Africa. He is also a solicitor-advocate of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI).
These appointments are made by The King on the advice of the Lord Chancellor following consideration by the independent King’s Counsel selection panel.
The panel received 283 applications, of which 95 were awarded the KC title, meaning the overall success rate was 33.6 per cent. Out of the 95 named today, 65 are male while 30 are women and solicitors had a 14 per cent success rate after Haeri was selected.
The full list can be viewed here.
His Majesty has also approved the appointment of five new Honorary King’s Counsel (KC Honoris Causa).
The Lord Chancellor will preside over the appointment ceremony at Westminster Hall in March 2024, where those named today will gain their KC title.
Commenting on the announcement, Monisha Shah, chair of the selection panel, said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to all the new silks announced today. The selection process is a rigorous and demanding one and I believe that every one of these new silks will be a credit to their profession.”
He added: “The competency framework for the award of King’s Counsel is set by the professions. It is heavily dependent on the strength of the evidence provided by leaders and peers about each applicant. The submission of honest, evidence-based assessments is pivotal to the work of the selection panel.
“On behalf of the panel, I would like to thank the nearly 2,000 assessors who provided assessments to the selection panel this year.”
Withers was contacted for comment.
