In English law (and other countries which adopt the rule), the cab-rank rule is the obligation of a barrister to accept any work in a field in which they profess themselves competent to practise, at a court at which they normally appear, and at their usual rates. The rule derives its name from the tradition by which a hackney carriage driver at the head of a queue of taxicabs is obliged to take the first passenger requesting a ride.
The cab rank rule is set out at rC29 of the Bar Standards Board Handbook. It states that if the barrister receives instructions from a professional client and the instructions are appropriate taking into account their experience, seniority and/or field of practice, they must (subject to the exceptions in rC30) accept those instructions irrespective of:
The ethos of the rule is thought to originate with Thomas Erskine, a prominent and wealthy barrister with links to the leader of the Whig Party, Charles James Fox, who was himself a sympathiser with French revolutionaries. [2]
Erskine – against the advice of his friends, who suspected that it would likely affect his political career – took on the case of Thomas Paine, who was being tried in absentia for seditious libel for the publication of the second part of his Rights of Man. Erskine's speech while defending Paine – unsuccessfully – is noted for a passage on the duty of barristers to take on even unpopular cases: [3]
I will for ever, at all hazards, assert the dignity, independence, and integrity of the English Bar, without which impartial justice, the most valuable part of the English constitution, can have no existence. From the moment that any advocate can be permitted to say that he will or will not stand between the Crown and the subject arraigned in the court where he daily sits to practise, from that moment the liberties of England are at an end.
An important element of the cab-rank rule was outlined by Lord Brougham during the Trial of Queen Caroline, where he asserted the paramount importance of advocates' zealous defence of their clients, even in circumstances where such spirited defence could threaten the very safety of the nation: [4]
[A]n advocate, by the sacred duty of his connection with his client, knows, in the discharge of that office, but one person in the world, that client and none other. To save that client by all expedient means - to protect that client at all hazards and costs to all others, and among others to himself - is the highest and most unquestioned of his duties; and he must not regard the alarm, the suffering, the torment, the destruction, which he may bring upon any other; nay, separating, even the duties of a patriot from those of an advocate, he must go on reckless of the consequences, if his fate it should unhappily be, to involve his country in confusion for his client.
In the 1970s, the cab-rank rule was tested. The Birmingham Six, supposedly bombers from the Irish Republican Army, were due to be tried at the Old Bailey in London. Due to difficulties in instructing any counsel willing to represent the defendants, the Bar was reminded of its duties under the cab-rank rule. [5]
In 2006, a barrister was reprimanded by the Bar Standards Board for refusing to act for a gay client, due to his Christian beliefs. [6]
Addressing the continued necessity for the rule in 2010, the Law Society of England and Wales, which represents solicitors, together with the Bar Council questioned its necessity, highlighting increases in competition. [7] The Bar Standards Board requested and received an independent report on the cab-rank rule. [8] After reviewing this report the board issued a press release titled "Removal of the 'cab rank' rule a major threat to justice", arguing that the rule protected lawyers from the stigma of defending an unpopular client. [9]
In 2023, more than one hundred lawyers, including six KCs, declared that they would not serve certain clients in light of the severe consequences of global warming. [10] [11] The Bar Standards Board and the Bar Council immediately issued press releases reaffirming the nature and importance of the cab rank rule. [12] [13]
However, others[ who? ] have pointed out that there is already uneven access to justice despite the existence of the cab-rank rule. [14] There is also debate[ among whom? ] about exceptions to the rule, such as strategic litigation against public participation and sanctions relating to Russia. [15] [16]
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giving legal opinions.
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly, across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, solicitor, legal executive, and public servant. — with each role having different functions and privileges. Working as a lawyer generally involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific problems. Some lawyers also work primarily in advancing the interests of the law and legal profession.
An "advocate" is a professional in the field of law. Different countries and legal systems uses the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based on jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, in Scottish, Manx, South African, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Polish, Israeli, South Asian and South American jurisdictions, "advocate" indicates a lawyer of superior classification.
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to practise there as such. For example, in England and Wales a solicitor is admitted to practise under the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974. With some exceptions, practising solicitors must possess a practising certificate. There are many more solicitors than barristers in England; they undertake the general aspects of giving legal advice and conducting legal proceedings.
In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel is a senior trial lawyer appointed by the monarch of the country as a 'Counsel learned in the law'. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is called Queen's Counsel (QC).
Legal ethics are principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself.
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecution.
Richard Fred Lewis is a retired American judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court of Florida on December 7, 1998, and served until January 8, 2019.
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates.
Solicitor advocate is a hybrid status which allows a solicitor in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong to represent clients in higher courts in proceedings that were traditionally reserved for barristers. The status does not exist in most other common law jurisdictions where, for the most part, all solicitors have rights of audience in higher courts.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales.
The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for:
The Malaysian Bar is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profession. Membership into the Bar is automatic and mandatory. The bar was created under the Legal Profession Act 1976. Like other bar associations around the world, it has a wide range of functions, including, to protect the reputation of the legal profession, to uphold the cause of justice, to express its views on matters relating to legislations, and others.
The Legal Services Board is an independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, created through the Legal Services Act of 2007.
An Attorney at law in Sri Lanka is the only legal practitioners authorised to represent others in all court of law in the island and are also authorised to give advice regarding any matter of law. Alternative terms include lawyer.
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and courts of England and Wales. The Act was the culmination of a series of reports and reforms that started with the Benson Commission in the 1970s, and significantly changed the way that the legal profession and court system worked.
The Legal profession in England and Wales is divided into two distinct branches under the legal system, those of solicitors and barristers. Other legal professions in England and Wales include acting as a judge, as the Attorney-General, as the Solicitor-General, or as the Director of Public Prosecutions.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is an international commercial law firm headquartered in Hong Kong. It is the largest international law firm in Asia-Pacific. It has thirty offices and more than 3,500 legal professionals in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.
Henry Joseph Christopher Hendron is an English barrister who has represented several celebrity clients. In 2016, Hendron pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, for supplying chemsex drugs that killed his boyfriend in a drug overdose the previous year.