Monckton Chambers door tenant Michael Collins has been elected as chairman of the Bar Council of Ireland.

Collins stepped up to his new role earlier this month (18 July) after serving as vice-chair for the past year. He was elected to his new position as chair with the largest vote in the history of the Council.

Collins focuses on commercial litigation, competition, EU and constitutional law and judicial review. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1978, to the English Bar in 1987 and took silk in Ireland in 1994.

He is also a member of the Bars of New York, having practised with Shearman & Sterling in 1980s, and was called to the Bar of the US Supreme Court in 2003.

Collins commented: "It is a tremendous honour to have been elected as Chairman of the Bar Council and my priority is to ensure that, irrespective of the regulatory environment, members of the Irish Bar can continue to act as utterly independent and fearless advocates for clients while maintaining the highest possible standards of professionalism and integrity."

The news follows the recent election of 5 Raymond Buildings' Desmond Browne QC as chairman of the Bar Council of England and Wales.

Browne, who chaired the Bar's working group on the Clementi Report and the Legal Services Act, will step up from his current position as vice chairman to take up the post on 1 January, 2009.