Commission appoints new President of Panel of Senior Decision Makers

The Commission has announced the appointment of Ms Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC to succeed Mr Michael Blair QC as President of its Panel of Senior Decision Makers. Mr Blair QC is retiring from that position at the end of this year – a position he has held since its inception in 2014. The Commission would like to place on record its appreciation for the manner in which Mr Blair QC has undertaken the role and for the considerable assistance he has afforded to the Commission over the past six years.

Ms Mulcahy QC is a leading advocate, part-time High Court Judge, commercial arbitrator and mediator. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1993, the Bar of the Republic of Ireland in 1998 and was appointed QC in 2009. Her practice spans commercial, regulatory and public law. Since very early in her career she has acted for governments. She was First Counsel to the Welsh Government from 2013 to 2016. Prior to taking silk, she held the appointment of Treasury Counsel (A Panel) for the UK Government and she continues to represent the UK Government upon the nomination of the Attorney-General.

Ms Mulcahy QC has held the appointment of Deputy High Court Judge since 2016 and Senior Decision Maker for the Guernsey Financial Services Commission since 2014. She also sits as a commercial arbitrator in international and domestic arbitrations and is a CEDR accredited mediator.

Chairman of the Commission, Drs Cees Schrauwers, said “I am delighted that Ms Mulcahy QC has agreed to accept this important role as President of the Commission’s Panel of Senior Decision Makers. She is highly regarded throughout her profession having a well-deserved reputation in her fields of expertise. Ms Mulcahy QC’s extensive legal knowledge, skills and experience combined with her six years’ service as one of the Commission’s Senior Decision Makers, will be of considerable benefit to the Commission and to the other members of the panel and makes her eminently suited to this role”.