King's Counsel and Senior Counsel

The Office of Senior Counsel in Western Australia was introduced in 2001 to replace the Office of Queen's Counsel (now known as King’s Counsel). Appointment as Senior Counsel is based on eminence in the practice of law. A committee advises the Chief Justice on applications for appointment.

Last updated: 8 March 2023

King's Counsel

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III to the throne, some of Australia’s barristers – formerly referred to as Queen’s Counsel (QCs) – will now be called King’s Counsel (KCs).

	Appointed
The Hon Malcolm James McCusker AC, CVO, KC	12 January 1982
Mr Ronald John Davies KC	20 March 1984
Mr Robert Kenneth O'Connor KC	12 December 1989
Mr Stephen Owen-Conway KC	21 January 1992
Dr Anthony Frank Dickey KC	15 April 1993
Mr Frank Castiglione KC	11 March 1997
Mr Thomas Francis Percy KC	16 December 1997
Mr Mark Terence Trowell KC	8 February 2000
Ms Raelene Joyce Webb KC	20 April 2004

Senior Counsel

	Appointed
Mr Kimberley Robert Wilson SC	24 September 2001
Mr Kenneth Malcolm Pettit SC	27 March 2002
Hon Peter M'Callum Dowding SC	13 November 2002
Mr Gregory Malcolm Grant McIntyre SC	13 November 2002
Mr Christopher Patrick Shanahan SC	1 December 2004
Mr Mark Timothy Ritter SC	1 December 2004
Mr Grant Richard Donaldson SC	1 December 2004
Mr Michael John Gadsby Nicholls QC	16 October 2006
Mr Theo Lampropoulos SC	23 November 2007
Ms Patricia Elaine Cahill SC	24 November 2009
Mr Matthew Daunton Howard SC	24 November 2009
Mr Stephen Michael Davies SC	24 November 2009
Mr Selva Kanagananda Dharmananda SC	6 December 2010
Mr Brahmananda Dharmananda SC	5 December 2011
Mr Rodney Stuart Hooper SC	28 November 2012
Mr Joshua Andrew Thomson SC	28 November 2012
Ms Karen Josephine Farley SC	3 December 2013
Mr Martin David Cuerden SC	25 November 2014
Mr Paul Dennis Yovich SC	1 December 2015
Mr John Basil Blackburn SC	1 December 2015
Mr Stephen James Wright SC	29 November 2017
Mr Simon Dieter Freitag SC	29 November 2017
Mr John Robert Broderick Ley SC	13 November 2018
Mr John Basil Hedges SC	13 November 2018
Mr Steven Penglis SC	13 November 2018
Ms Carolyn Janet Thatcher SC	13 November 2018
Mr Gary David Cobby SC	13 November 2018
Mr Alain Jonathan Musikanth SC	13 November 2018
Mr Jason Duncan MacLaurin SC	27 November 2019
Mr Joseph Garas SC	27 November 2019
Ms Laura Elizabeth Christian SC	27 November 2019
Ms Julie Katherine Taylor SC	27 November 2019
Mr Justin Campbell Whalley SC	27 November 2019
Mr Graham Droppert SC	25 November 2020
Ms Penelope Jane Giles SC	25 November 2020
Mr Alan John Sefton SC	25 November 2020
Mr Matthew Curwood SC	25 November 2020
Ms Kim Rosemary Lendich SC	25 November 2020
Mr Lindsay Makinson Fox SC	25 November 2020
Mr Geoffrey Paul Bourhill SC	22 October 2021
Mr Steven James Jones SC	22 October 2021
Mr Darren William Leslie Renton SC	22 October 2021
Ms Clare Helen Thompson SC	22 October 2021
Mr Griffin Jay Ranson SC	22 October 2021
Mr Terence James Palmer SC	22 October 2021
Mr Leigh Warnick SC	26 October 2022
Ms Bettina Mangan SC	26 October 2022
Mr Craig Bydder SC	26 October 2022
Mr Timothy Hammond SC	26 October 2022
Mr Eric Heenan SC	26 October 2022
Ms Rachael Young SC	26 October 2022