Elections

Bar Council elections 2026

Voting for the Bar Council elections 2026 is now open.

You can vote via MyBar in the following categories:

• Self-employed junior counsel over 7 years in practice (7 places)
• Employed King’s Counsel or junior counsel over 7 years in practice (3 places)

All barristers with a current practising certificate are eligible to vote in all categories. You can see the full list of candidates and their statements below.

The deadline for voting is 10am on Friday 16 October 2026.

How to vote

The election is conducted by single transferable vote (STV) and you will be invited to rank the candidates in order of your preference.

1. Log in to MyBar and head to the ‘Elections’ section of the menu
2. Read the candidate statements and watch the candidate videos on MyBar
3. Cast your votes

Voting category: Self-employed junior counsel over 7 years in practice 

There were 7 full-term vacancies in this category and 13 nominated candidates. The following candidates will go forward to election:

• Susheel Bellara
• James Bogle
• Richard Buston
• Amelia Clegg
• Anne Crossfield
• Anton van Dellen
• Rebecca Filletti
• Shobana Iyer
• Andrew Parsons
• Catherine Peck 
• Philip Stott
• Sajid Suleman
• Benjamin Thiele-Long 

Click on each candidate to read their election statement. 

Voting category: Employed King’s Counsel or junior counsel over 7 years in practice 

There were three full-term vacancies in this category with 5 nominated candidates. The following candidates will go forward to election:

• Jonathan Foy
• Peter Grieves-Smith
• Lucinda Orr 
• James Robinson
• Mark Rowlands

Click on each candidate to read their election statement. 

Elected candidates

Congratulations to the following candidates who were elected unopposed and will join the Bar Council in January 2027.

Self-employed King's Counsel 

There were two full-term vacancies and 4 casual vacancies in this category with only one nominated candidate. The following candidate is therefore duly elected: 

• Alexander Brown KC 

The unfilled vacancies will be re-advertised during the casual election period.

Self-employed junior counsel under 7 years in practice 

There were 5 full-term vacancies and one casual vacancy (2-year term) in this category with 6 nominated candidates. The following candidates are therefore duly elected:

• Naomi Duckworth
• Vanessen (Stephen) Rungasamy FRSA
• Konstantina Nouka 
• Adam Riley
• Raghav Trivedi
• Nancy Kelehar - elected for 2-year term*

* Under the Constitution part 7 (ii) if more candidates stand than are required to be elected as members for three-year terms, then the Chief Executive shall draw lots so as to determine which candidates are elected as members for what terms

Employed junior counsel under 7 years in practice  

There were two full-term vacancies and two casual vacancies in this category with only two nominated candidates. The following candidates are therefore duly elected:

• Verity Bell
• Erlend Haaskjold

The unfilled vacancies will be re-advertised during the casual election period.

Casual vacancies

We did not receive enough nominations in the following categories:

• Self-employed King's Counsel (5 vacancies)
• Employed junior counsel under 7 years in practice (2 vacancies)  

Casual vacancy nominations will therefore be open from Thursday 22 October to Friday 30 October 2026 and voting (by Bar Council members) will take place from Monday 2 November to Friday 6 November.