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The climate crisis & the cab rank rule

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Has the recent debate on refusal to act for fossil fuel companies exposed anomalies in the cab rank rule? Geoffrey Bindman KC considers the position for solicitors & barristers

The cab rank rule for barristers is said to date from the trial of Charles I in 1649, when John Cooke, the solicitor general, led the prosecution in Westminster Hall. He did not deliver his opening speech because Charles refused to recognise the court, but Charles was nonetheless convicted and executed. On the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, when the regicides were tried in their turn, Cooke met the same fate. His defence—that he was compelled to prosecute as a professional duty—was rejected. Ever since, the supposed duty of barristers to act for all who seek their services, on which Cooke vainly relied, has been acknowledged but rarely enforced.

Basic rules

The Daily Mail on 23 March 2023 misrepresented the cab rank rule in order to attack the barristers and solicitors who call themselves

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

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