The cab rank rule – what is it good for? (absolutely nothing?)

Before anyone jumps down my throat, there is a question mark at the end of the headline to this piece - I am asking a question: does the cab rank rule serve any purpose, or is it an ideal which is rarely really honoured? I decided to pen this post in response to some research commissioned by the Legal Services Board - The Cab Rank Rule: Its Meaning and Purpose in the New Legal Services Market. There has been an bullish response from the Criminal Bar Association and an excellent response by family law barrister Lucy Reed - A Trickle Not a Flood. There has also been a typically measured response from UCL professor of law and professional ethics Richard Moorhead - Cab Rank Rules or Bar Room Brawls?

January 31, 2013 at 05:37 AM

4 minute read

Before anyone jumps down my throat, there is a question mark at the end of the headline to this piece – I am asking a question: does the cab rank rule serve any purpose, or is it an ideal which is rarely really honoured?

I decided to pen this post in response to some research commissioned by the Legal Services Board – The Cab Rank Rule: Its Meaning and Purpose in the New Legal Services Market. There has been an bullish response from the Criminal Bar Association and an excellent response by family law barrister Lucy Reed – A Trickle Not a Flood. There has also been a typically measured response from UCL professor of law and professional ethics Richard Moorhead – Cab Rank Rules or Bar Room Brawls?

My input is from the view point of a clerk, someone who is entwined within the subtleties of the Cab Rank Rule on a day to day basis. I hope it provides a slightly different view.

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