The Prime Minister has acted in response to recent concerns raised regarding the delay in the appointment of senior lawyers as Queen's Counsel.

A month after RJR News reported that there was a major issue brewing between the government and the legal fraternity over the appointment of new Queen's Counsels it has been announced that three lawyers have been elevated to the rank. The Governor-General acting on the recommendation of the Prime Minister announced the appointments Monday. The new QC's are Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, Patrick Atkinson and Allan Wood. Their appointments took effect on March 31. There was growing impatience over the Prime Minister's delay in approving the appointments. A committee, chaired by Chief Justice, Zaila McCalla, recommended in late 2008 that the three senior attorneys be made Queen's Counsels. It was expected that the appointments would have followed as a mere formality shortly thereafter; but more than a year later, however, the appointments were not approved by the Prime Minister. Senior members of the legal fraternity had questioned whether this was an unwelcome sign of political interference in the process of appointing Queen's Counsels.