On 21 December 2017 the Ministry of Justice announced the appointment of 119 new Queen's Counsel and 7 Honorary Queen's Counsel, which included Professor Nicola Padfield.
Nicky is Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the University of Cambridge. In addition to her academic work, she sat as a Recorder from 2002-2014. She is a Bencher of the Middle Temple, and is currently Vice-Chair of its Education and Training Committee. In addition the citation stated that she "has made a huge contribution to the criminal justice system in a practical capacity, in addition to her work in academia, where her research focuses on sentencing and parole". Professor Padfield is also Master of Fitzwilliam College.
QCs are appointed by The Queen, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. She is in turn advised by an independent Selection Panel which receives and considers each application and makes recommendations as to appointment.
The Lord Chancellor will preside over the appointment ceremony, where the rank will formally be bestowed upon successful applicants, at Westminster Hall on 26 February 2018.
It is a huge honour now to be rewarded in this way having pursued an alternative careerNicola Padfield
Responding to her appointment, Professor Padfield said:
"I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed Queen’s Counsel, honoris causa. It came as a complete surprise. Forty years ago I considered a career at the Bar, but gave it up for all sorts of reasons. It is a huge honour now to be rewarded in this way having pursued an alternative career. I have had the real privilege of working in the University of Cambridge, and Fitzwilliam College, for more than 25 years and this has allowed me to teach, to research, to write: to make some small contribution, perhaps, to our understanding of criminal justice. But this justice system is currently not in a good condition, badly underfunded: there’s no shortage of work still to be done."