Queen's Counsel

American  

noun

1. King's Counsel.

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Queen's Counsel British  

noun

1. Also called (when the sovereign is male): King's Counsel.  (in England when the sovereign is female) a barrister or advocate appointed Counsel to the Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, entitled to sit within the bar of the court and to wear a silk gown

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Etymology

Origin of Queen's Counsel

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Queen’s Counsel barrister Nick Vineall, representing the Maduro-backed central bank, said that rather than being “fatal” to his side’s case, the UK foreign secretary’s statement had instead supported it.

From Reuters • Jul. 19, 2021

In the 1980s, she was appointed to the Law Commission, an independent body that scrutinizes laws in England and Wales, and became a Queen’s Counsel, a member of a select group of senior trial lawyers.

From New York Times • Sep. 24, 2019

But Mullen was riled by the leading defense barristers, who were all Queen’s Counsel, the finest trial lawyers in Britain.

From The New Yorker • May 20, 2019

Later this month he will become an honorary Queen’s Counsel, a recognition by the UK government of his academic achievements.

From The Guardian • Feb. 3, 2017

Q.C.  In 1850 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel and made a Bencher of the Middle Temple. 

From Norfolk Annals A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 2 by Mackie, Charles