Chairman of the Bar, Alistair MacDonald QC, welcomed the new Lord Chancellor, Michael Gove MP, at a swearing in ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice this week. Addressing the audience, MacDonald said: “The position of Lord Chancellor retains great prestige and, in the order of precedence, he ranks higher even than the Prime Minister as an officer of state. This emphasises the critical importance of the law in our national consciousness and this great office to the maintenance of a stable, prosperous and equitable civil state.”