SCOOP … Waving, not drowning … Silk contestants at the starting line … Full list of NSW senior counsel applicants for 2023 … Annual beauty parade 

A large number to be sure – a sign that many briefs are on the crest of a wave. The selectors will whittle this down to about 20 winners, with the others taking the tortured trek to the bar nabobs for an embarrassing explanation about why they are not sufficiently loved. 

There are lots of old regulars on the list who have been repeatedly cold shouldered by the opaque and mystical process run by people with Doctorates in Voodoo. It would not be the same ritual without their cheery persistence. 

Some have been beavering away at the bar, successfully, for 25 years only to find the bone pointed at them, time and time again. 

The 2023 list reveals the changing complexion of the NSW Bar, containing plenty of non-Anglo-Celtic names. It is far less white-bread-male than it used to be. 

Former appeal judge Frank Hutley would be having conniptions – it was he who complained that the influx of people from working class and migrant backgrounds would see a decline in ethical standards.