From kitchen to courtroom: John's rise through the Scotts Hall & Birtles ranks

An unusual career switch has paid off for a Dales father-of-two after he was made partner at

an historic law firm, just ten years after deciding that life as a chef was not for him.

John Barker, a property law specialist originally from Askrigg in Wensleydale, has been appointed a director and equity partner at Scotts Hall & Birtles, based in Leyburn.

The 38-year-old has attributed his success to his formative years in the kitchen, where he

said he developed the habits of working hard, often under intense pressure and with the high

expectations of his customers.

“You wouldn’t describe it as the traditional route,” he said. “After leaving school I worked as a

chef and a baker but always wanted to study law. When I was 21 I decided to apply to

university.”

Mr Barker signed up for a law degree at Teesside University and for the next five years

spent two nights a week studying, on top of his demanding day job.

He added: “At that point, I still didn’t see how anyone was going to hire a chef with a law

degree, but I was determined to make it happen.”

Mr Barker got a break when he was taken on by J.R. Hopper, a Dales estate agency, and

through that role, came into regular contact with Steve Scott, managing director at what is

now Scotts Hall & Birtles.

It wasn’t long before he was accepted onto a training contract at the law firm, which has

roots in the Dales going back nearly 200 years.

“Steve basically told me that you get out what you put in, and that if I put in the hours, I

would be rewarded,” said Mr Barker, now of Darlington.

“I was approaching 30-years-old, married, with a family to provide for, I knew I needed to

make it work, and make it work quickly.

“From there, it has flown by. Each year, I have been given more responsibility and more

progression.”

That progression was capped when Mr Barker was made director at the firm during the

merger of Scotts Wright Solicitors and Hall & Birtles.

“It’s just been a brilliant place to learn and develop,” he said. “When I was training, I had

peers from the big firms in Newcastle who were spending their days photocopying all day,

some of them working 80, 90 hours a week and burning out.

“I was working on files, dealing with clients, truly developing, and on top of that, had the

flexibility around my family life to have that balance that was so important.”

Mr Scott said: “From the start, John has had that hunger to succeed. He’s never shirked the

hard work or the difficult cases.

"He has set an example to others, those just starting out in their careers in law, and shown them how with the right attitude and application, you can make it happen. We’re so proud of him.”

Scotts Hall & Birtles is recruiting. Keep an eye on our Join Our Team page for more information.