281 lawyers practicing before the Madras High Court have applied for Senior Advocate designation under a substantially revamped designation regime.

The High Court on October 6 published the list of applicants and invited suggestions or views from practising advocates, the Bar Council and relevant bar associations. The views must be supported by verifiable material and should be submitted to the Registrar (Administration) by 5.45 pm on October 27.

The list runs to 281 applicants, with enrolment years ranging from the 1970s to 2015.

The exercise comes nearly four years after the High Court's previous round of designations. In January 2023, the full court of the High Court designated 62 lawyers as Senior Advocates under the then-existing 2020 Rules.

The present exercise, however, is being conducted under the Rules for Designation of Senior Advocates by the High Court of Madras, 2026.

The news Rules were notified on July 23 this year.

The new Rules were framed against the backdrop of a May 2025 Supreme Court judgment that discarded the earlier 100-point assessment system for Senior Advocate designations and directed High Courts to amend or substitute their existing rules.

The Madras High Court's 2026 Rules consequently do away with the earlier points-based assessment and interview system. The permanent committee now comprises the Chief Justice and the two senior-most judges, unlike the 2020 regime where the Advocate General and a member of the Bar were also part of the committee

Under the new regime, an applicant must ordinarily have at least ten years' standing and be at least 45 years old, though the full court can relax the age requirement. Applicants must mainly practise before the High Court or a District Court, while advocates with specialised tribunal practices can be given some relaxation regarding the extent of their High Court appearance

The Secretariat is required to collect information concerning an applicant's reputation, conduct and integrity and place the complete dossier before the full court. The full court is to assess candidates on their ability, standing at the bar and special knowledge or experience in law.

The Rules specifically refer to advocacy skills, professional ethics, mentoring juniors, pro bono work, integrity and domain expertise as relevant considerations

Significantly, the 2026 Rules also repealed the 2020 Rules and required all pending applications, proposals and recommendations under the earlier regime to be returned so that advocates could apply afresh.

The list of candidates who have applied for the gown can be accessed here.