Criminal and human rights practitioner Kirsty Brimelow KC has been elected vice chair of the Bar Council for 2025
Brimelow, of Doughty Street Chambers, was called to the bar in 1991, took silk in 2011 and was appointed as a recorder in 2022 and deputy High Court judge in 2021.
She was vice chair and chair of the Criminal Bar Association in 2021–23 during the barrister strikes and subsequent negotiations with the government over legal aid fees.
She also led the drafting which resulted in the introduction of FGM Protection Order legislation.
Her work nationally and internationally led to the UN resolution on the Elimination of Harmful Practices Related to Accusations of Witchcraft and Ritual Attacks. Between 2019 and 2021, Kirsty advised the government of Denmark on consent-based sexual offences, leading to a change in the law.
Her work as a mediator includes negotiating an historic apology from the former president of Colombia to a community of cacao farmers.
She will join Barbara Mills KC and Lucinda Orr next year to make up the first all-female officer team in the Bar Council’s 130-year history.
Brimelow said: ‘As we move through the election year, I am committed to taking justice off the political football field and returning it to a properly resourced, accessible and respected pillar of society.’
