A total of 37 legal practitioners in Ireland will be permitted to use the title ‘Senior Counsel’ following the Government’s approval of recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the grant of Patents of Precedence. Approval was granted on the 15th June 2021, with the group made up of 25 barristers and 17 solicitors, who will be allowed to use the title.
Granting a Patent of Precedence, to a barrister, entitles them to be called to the Inner Bar and to use the title of Senior Counsel. In relation to a solicitor, it entitles them to use the title of Senior Counsel.
The Advisory Committee was established in April 2020 under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and is chaired by the Chief Justice. The 2015 Act allowed solicitors for the first time to apply to be granted Patents of Precedence. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority of Ireland provides administrative and secretarial support to the independent Advisory Committee on the Patents of Precedence.
Read more about the decision here.