The title of Senior Counsel (postnominal SC; 資深大律師 in Hong Kong Cantonese [1] [2]; 高级律师 in Singapore Mandarin [3] [4]) or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, especially in Commonwealth countries or jurisdictions in which the British monarch is no longer head of state, such as Ireland, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Hong Kong. It replaces the title Queen's Counsel (or in times with a male sovereign, King's Counsel). Other jurisdictions have adopted similar titles such as Senior Advocate in India [5], President's Counsel in Sri Lanka, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Post-nominal letters also called Post-nominal initials or Post-nominal titles are letters placed after the name of an individual to indicate that that individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. ... Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Mandarin, or Beifanghua (Chinese: 北方話; Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà; literally Northern Dialect(s)), or Guanhua (Traditional Chinese: 官話; Simplified Chinese: 官话; Pinyin: Guānhuà; literally official speech) is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. ... English barrister A barrister is a lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions who employ a split profession (as opposed to a fused profession) in relation to legal representation. ... It has been suggested that Barrister#Advocates in Scotland be merged into this article or section. ... Cherie Booth QC wearing her ceremonial robes (including full-bottomed wig) as Queens Counsel at the Bar of England and Wales. ... Queens Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as Kings Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by Letters patent to be one of Her Majestys Counsel learned in the law. They do not constitute a separate order or degree of... Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a rank that may be conferred on legal practitioners in Nigeria of not less than ten years standing and who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession. ...

The rank of Senior Counsel has also been introduced in Australia and New Zealand. The title may even be introduced in the United Kingdom itself, the change of title reflecting appointment by the profession, rather than moves towards republicanism. Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on Liberty and ruled by the people. ...

Senior Counsels may still, however, style themselves as silks, like their British counterparts.

External links

• Hong Kong Bar Association
• List of Hong Kong SC
• Directory of SCs in Singapore
• Guardian 2004-04-10: QC system replaced by new scheme after 400 years
• Guardian 2004-05-28: U-turn lets QC title live on for now