Queen's Counsel

plural Queen's Counsels · abbreviation QC

1. CanadaNew ZealandUKoccasionally AustraliaAn honorific status officially conferred on senior or meritorious barristers (and occasionally other kinds of lawyer) during the reign of a queen.

   Barr’s three Queen’s Counsel absorbed Kawashima as they pored over reports from both sides.

   2020, Brian Deer, “Unblinded”, in The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield’s War on Vaccines, Brunswick, Vic.: Scribe Publications, →ISBN

   1 more example

   Archibald was one of two Queen’s Counsels on Tortola, a distinguished title that permitted attorneys to be seated at the lead defense table when arguing a case before the court.

   2003, Lisa Pulitzer, Murder in Paradise: The Mystery Surrounding the Murder of American Lois Livingston McMillen, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 166

2. UKhistoricalA barrister or advocate appointed by the Crown during the reign of a queen.