The latest round of QC appointments has been announced today (1 March) with former Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham awarded honourary QC status.

One hundred and twenty of a total of 251 applicants have been awarded the QC title, equating to a success rate of 48% – a marginal increase on last year's rate of 47%.

Popham was granted the honourary QC status alongside five other appointments, including Peters & Peters fraud specialist Monty Raphael and Bindmans founder Sir Geoffrey Bindman.

The number of women awarded QC status rose again this year to 27 from 20 in 2009-10 and 16 in 2008-09. The number of female applicants, however, decreased to 41 from 46 in 2009-10.

Two of the five solicitor-advocates who applied to take silk were appointed, an increase on the one successful candidate out of 10 last year.

The two are David Price of media law boutique David Price Solicitors and Advocates, and SJ Berwin litigation partner Tim Taylor, who has been based in the top 20 UK firm's Dubai office since its launch in June 2009. He advises on public and private litigation matters as well as arbitration and mediation.

Professor Dame Joan Higgins, the chair of the QC selection panel, said: "Once again, the quality of applicants was very high and the panel has been impressed with the wide range of backgrounds and practices represented among the new Queen's Counsel.

"We noted, in particular, the success of some two-thirds of all female applicants who are taking silk this year. Relatively few female advocates are putting themselves forward for consideration for QC. But the markedly higher success rate for women applicants this year should send a positive signal to all suitably qualified women advocates, whether barrister or solicitor.

"The proportion of successful applicants who have declared an ethnic origin other than white broadly reflected their proportions at the Bar, where most of our applicants come from."

Twelve applicants who declared an ethnic origin other than white were successful, marking a decrease on the 17 appointed last year.

However, just 20 ethnic minority candidates applied this year, equating to a success rate of 55% – a slight increase on last year's success rate of 49%, when 35 ethnic minority candidates put themselves forward.

Full list of QC appointments

Michael James Royston Ashcroft – 20 Essex Street
Richard Paul Atkins – St Philips Chambers
Ali Naseem Bajwa – 25 Bedford Row
Manuel David Barca – One Brick Court
Fiona Barton – 5 Essex Court
Daniel Matthew Beard – Monckton Chambers
Jason Beer – 5 Essex Court
Philip James Bennetts – CPS London
Simon Lloyd Bickler – St Paul's Chambers
Edward James Bishop – 1 Chancery Lane
Timothy Harper Paul Bishop – 1 Hare Court
Paul Simon Bogan – 23 Essex Street
Richard Edward Stanley Boulton – One Essex Court
Janine Kirsty Brimelow – Doughty Street Chambers
Simon Peter Buchanan Browne – Temple Garden Chambers
Nicholas David Caddick – Hogarth Chambers
Sara Elizabeth Cockerill – Essex Court Chambers
Stephen William Cogley – Quadrant Chambers
Benjamin Edward Compton-Welstead – Outer Temple Chambers
Barbara Winifred Connolly – Seven Bedford Row
Adam Michael Constable – Keating Chambers
Tina Gail Cook – 42 Bedford Row
Rosina Cottage – The Chambers of Grahame Aldous QC
Simon Csoka – Lincoln House Chambers
Katharine Mary Davidson – 1 Hare Court
Glen Milton Davis – 3-4 South Square
Joel Donovan – Cloisters
James Frederick Drake – 7 King's Bench Walk
Simon Patrick Drew – No.5 Chambers
Michael Charles Duck – No.5 Chambers
Tim Eicke – Essex Court Chambers
Nkumbe Ekaney – Albion Chambers
Gillian Felicity Amanda Etherton – Atkinson Bevan Chambers
Judith Sarah Farbey – Doughty Street Chambers
Michael Neil Gibbon – Maitland Chambers
Lisa Caterina Giovannetti – 39 Essex Street/82 King Street
Simon Anthony Gorton – Atlantic Chambers/Old Square Chambers
Eleanor Mary Grace Grey – 39 Essex Street/82 King Street
Samuel Marc Grodzinski – Matrix Chambers
Paul Best Harris – Monckton Chambers
Alexandra Healy – 9-12 Bell Yard
Javan William Herberg – Blackstone Chambers
Jonathan Alexander Cameron Higgs – 5 King's Bench Walk
Patricia Ann Hitchcock – Cloisters
David Moore Holland – Landmark Chambers
Rex Andrew Howling – 4 Paper Buildings
Theodore David Huckle – Civitas Chambers
Simon David Hughes – Keating Chambers
Martin Anthony Hutchings – Wilberforce Chambers
Barry Russell Isaacs – 3-4 South Square
Jeremy Charles Johnson – 5 Essex Court
Christopher George Johnston – 3 Serjeants Inn
Gregory Jones – Francis Taylor Building
Daniel Simon Suzman Jowell – Brick Court Chambers
Phillippa Jane Kaufmann – Doughty Street Chambers
Kalyani Kaul – 9-12 Bell Yard
Adrian Francis Keeling – No.5 Chambers
Karim Asad Ahmad Khan – Temple Garden Chambers
Tahir Zaffar Khan – Broadway House Chambers
Gwynneth Frances Knowles – Atlantic Chambers
Julian Bernard Knowles – Matrix Chambers
Francis Joseph Laird – St Philips Chambers
Ian Douglas Lawrie – 3 Paper Buildings
Eleanor Jane Laws – 6 Pump Court/6-8 Mill Street
Simon Reginald Laws – Walnut House/6 King's Bench Walk
Stewart Leech – Queen Elizabeth Building
Ian Douglas Leist – 2 Hare Court
David Anthony Lock – No.5 Chambers
Alistair William Orchard MacDonald – St Philips Chambers
Peter John Sibley MacDonald Eggers – 7 King's Bench Walk
Michael Magarian – Dyers Chambers
Paul Anthony McGrath – Essex Court Chambers
John Vincent Barry McLinden – Field Court Chambers
Simon Edward Medland – Nicholas Street Chambers
Poonam Arjandas Melwani – Quadrant Chambers
Rajiv Menon – Garden Court Chambers
Andrew Edward Mitchell – Fountain Court
Vincent John Moran – Keating Chambers
Sarah Mary Morgan – 1 Garden Court Family Law
Richard Hugo Lyndon Morgan – Maitland Chambers
Timothy Francis Morshead – Landmark Chambers
Keith Farrance Morton – Temple Garden Chambers
Peter Charles Edward Moulson – No.6 Park Square
William Howard Mousley – 2 King's Bench Walk
James Malachi Mulholland – 15 New Bridge Street
Andrew Richard Oldland – Walnut House/6 King's Bench Walk
Anthony Edward Orchard – Carmelite Chambers
Fiona Jane Parkin – Atkin Chambers
Rohan Anthony Pershad – 39 Essex Street/82 King Street
Sarah Georgina Plaschkes – QEB Hollis Whiteman
David Wallace Platt – Crown Office Chambers
Lewis Niall Power – Lamb Building/Chambers of Mr Ami Feder
David Jack Price – David Price Solicitors and Advocates
Christopher John Quinlan – Guildhall Chambers
Eason Thurai Rajah – Ten Old Square
Jennifer Richards – 39 Essex Street/82 King Street
Paul Anthony Wellington Russell – 12 King's Bench Walk
Simon Lopez Salzedo – Brick Court Chambers
Leslie John Samuels – Pump Court Chambers
Oliver Leon Segal – Old Square Chambers
Howard Shaw – 29 Bedford Row Chambers
Clive David Sheldon – 11 King's Bench Walk
Nicolas Kyd Stallworthy – Outer Temple Chambers
Paul David Stinchcombe – 4-5 Gray's Inn Square
Mark Sutton – Old Square Chambers
Timothy Hugh Christian Taylor – SJ Berwin
Bernard Tetlow – Charter Chambers
Robert Owain Philip Thomas – Quadrant Chambers
Amanda Jane Tipples – Maitland Chambers
Sonia Tolaney – 3 Verulam Buildings
Felicity Rosalind Toube – 3-4 South Square
Andrew Mark Twigger – 3 Stone Buildings
Christopher David Wagstaffe – 29 Bedford Row Chambers
Andrew Paul Dalton Walker – Maitland Chambers
Timothy Justin Ward – Monckton Chambers
Jeremy Paul Weston – St Ive's Chambers
John Justin Whitting – 1 Crown Office Row
John Armstrong Wilson – 1 Hare Court
Catherine Wood – 4 Paper Buildings
Amanda Louise Yip – Exchange Chambers

Stuart Popham is chairing Legal Week's Future of Legal Services Forum 2011 at the Chancery Court Hotel, London on Thursday 14 April. Click here for more information.