26 barristers appointed to prestigious ranks of NSW senior counsel
Sue Chrysanthou helped to deliver court wins to Geoffrey Rush, Sarah Hanson-Young and Don Burke. Now the defamation barrister has had a win of her own | FULL LIST
Sue Chrysanthou has helped to deliver court victories to high-profile clients including actor Geoffrey Rush, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and TV gardener Don Burke.
Now the defamation barrister has had a win of her own — she is one of 26 barristers to be made a NSW senior counsel this year. It seems only fitting given that her initials are S.C.
Appointment to the prestigious ranks of senior counsel brings recognition to barristers of their expertise — and the chance to ratchet up their fees.
Another formidable talent with the initials S.C. also made the cut — prosecutor Sophie Callan.
Ms Callan was one of the counsels assisting at the two-year inquest into Sydney’s Lindt cafe siege. More recently, she has been prosecuting former NSW ministers Ian Macdonald and Eddie Obeid, as well as Obeid’s son Moses over an alleged coal exploration licence conspiracy.
Ms Chrysanthou and Ms Callan were two of the six women appointed senior counsel this year.
Females made up 23 per cent of new silks, an almost identical proportion to last year.
Only 13 per cent of silks in NSW are female, and 24 per cent of barristers.
Commercial barrister James Emmett (grandson of Sir Laurence Street and son of judges Sylvia and Arthur Emmett) was another successful candidate. Last year, he married investment banker Peter Wilson in a lavish celebration on Sydney’s Cockatoo Island with 600 of their closest friends and family members. Luckily, they did not wait until 2020.
Yaseen Shariff, who represented the Seven Network in its legal battle against former presenter Simon Reeve, was also appointed.
Commercial barrister Justin Hogan-Doran was made a senior counsel too — but he might be happier if he could call himself a QC. The former King & Wood Mallesons solicitor was part of a push six years ago for the title of Queens Counsel to be restored to the NSW bar.
None of the barristers wasted any time adding their highly prized new letters to their web pages. All of those checked by The Australian were already listing themselves as SC.
Some will be disappointed with today’s announcement.
Barrister Sam Duggan, who appeared for Cardinal George Pell during the Child Abuse Royal Commission, missed out. Michael Spartalis, who fought the case with the NSW Police against the Black Lives Matter protests, was another unsuccessful candidate.
Perennial applicant David Smallbone also missed out. In 2014 he sued the Bar Association for failing to consider his application when it was lodged 12 minutes after deadline.
Women were appointed at a slightly higher rate than men; 23 women applied, and 26 per cent were successful.
In contrast, men achieved a conversion rate of 23 per cent; there were 20 men appointed out of 85 applicants.
The Australian recently revealed that across the nation, females barristers received about 27 per cent of briefs in 2018-19, but just 20 per cent of fees to barristers.