LAW
Part of the furniture – John Wilkin ’ s first job during work experience at Punch Robson was to haul desks and filing cabinets to the firm ’ s new offices .
and down Albert Road ,” he says .
“ The managing partner , appreciating that I hadn ’ t had much work experience , asked me to stay on longer – a coded way of saying they hadn ’ t finished clearing the first and second floors yet !”
As weeks passed into months , John turned up every day , forming a friendship with Adrian Williams , the partner in charge of the personal injury department , a “ lovely bloke ” who needed someone to do his research for him .
“ Nobody told me to leave , so I just kept turning up ,” smiles John .
“ I eventually became part of the furniture – no pun intended – and they paid me a modest salary .
“ But , in order to become an articled clerk , I had to do my solicitors ’ finals course , so in autumn 1989 I went to Manchester Polytechnic , passed with distinction and a year later came back to Punch Robson .”
John qualified as a solicitor on April 2 1992 , working in civil litigation and personal injury before gravitating towards exclusively civil litigation .
Seven years later , he was made an offer of a salaried partnership .
“ I was looking forward to getting around the table to see how everything worked ,” says John .
“ That first partners ’ meeting was the day before my birthday and culminated in the managing partner and three of the other partners announcing they were leaving to set up on their own . I thought , ‘ Oh ! So this what happens in law partnerships !’.”
Life at Punch Robson continued despite this upheaval , and in 2003 , John became an equity partner .
The economic crash of 2007-08 saw conveyancing work dry up overnight and , over the next few years , the firm had some tough decisions to make .
“ It was time for a root and branch change in the way the firm worked ,” John recalls .
In 2016 , the firm – under newlyappointed managing partner Elaine McLaine-Wood , working alongside John – made the key decision to streamline further and close the Albert Road HQ , which had been Punch Robson ’ s home since 1898 , decamping to their Ingleby Barwick and Coulby Newham satellite offices .
“ Though it was an emotional wrench , we saved roughly £ 100,000 a year in rent , rates , heat and light etcetera , so in hindsight it was the best decision we ’ ve ever made .”
Today , Punch Robson make “ very satisfactory ” profits and there ’ s every incentive for John to stay on , despite reaching his milestone birthday .
He still performs a vital role as head of the firm ’ s litigation department , dealing with a varied caseload which includes professional negligence , contractual
Find out more about Punch Robson Solicitors and their services at punchrobson . co . uk .
disputes , insolvency , landlord and tenant , boundary and neighbour disputes , rights of way , defamation , employment and contentious probate , to name but a few .
He has an enviable track record , has never had a successful claim made against him , and his dedication to his role is obvious .
“ I never switch off completely , even if that means thinking of my cases in the shower or when I ’ m dead-heading my roses ,” says John .
“ It means that when I get to work I ’ ve thought things through and have a plan . You ’ ve got see the bigger picture and have a good strategy .”
Light years away from the man who had little affinity with law when he graduated , John now understands just how vital his services have been to so many .
“ My epiphany came when I saw people in front of me who needed my help ,” says John .
“ I realised that it wasn ’ t like an exam , where you can get 60 per cent of it right and still pass . You have to get it all right .
“ That ’ s when it all fell into place . If you fail a private client , you can mess up their life and livelihood , so I have to think things through carefully and always do my very best and to give clients the right advice .”
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