John Fisher (P 65-69): calculated risks and a career less ordinary
Finding his way
The dedication in his recent book, What Makes Civilisation?, reads: “To Sedbergh School for giving me the mental strength to carry on, despite all obstacles, when lost on the fells in the pouring rain.”
It is a lesson John has carried with him throughout his career, shaping how he responds to challenges as well as new opportunities.
His most vivid experience of getting lost on the fells came during his first week at Cressbrook School, Sedbergh’s long-standing feeder school. Just nine years old, he was out on a School run when he noticed mist gathering as he made his way up the fell. Spotting a dry stone wall beside the path, he took a bearing on it, anticipating that he might need it to find his way back.
He was right. By the time he descended, the mist had thickened until he could see no more than 30 yards ahead. Remembering the wall, he made his way towards it, reaching it precisely at a corner. Faced with a choice of directions, he controlled his panic, worked out which way to go and found the path back to School.
For John, the experience was about more than finding his way home. It taught him to stay calm under pressure, think clearly and trust his own judgement.
“Even top people, they’ve got to have resilience to get to the top,” he says.
That resilience, coupled with a willingness to trust his judgement, would prove invaluable in a career that repeatedly took him into unfamiliar territory, from moving to Hong Kong to establishing a business without a single existing client.
From law to the stock markets of Hong Kong
John initially expected to follow his father into business. Although he struggled with his A levels, partly because his dyslexia and dyspraxia had not been recognised, he secured a place at the University of Leeds Law Faculty through clearing, following a strong performance at interview.
He discovered that law suited him far better than his earlier academic experience had suggested.
“Whilst I found A levels hard, I found law not only interesting but also easy.”
After university and further legal training, John joined international law firm Allen & Overy, where he developed a grounding in commercial law. He subsequently moved to Hong Kong, where he continued practising law and discovered a second interest: the stock market.
Following a stock-market crash, John recognised an opportunity to learn more about investing. Rather than simply observing the markets, he sought out someone from whom he could learn. He identified Tony Measor, a leading Hong Kong stockbroker known as the “Warren Buffett of the Far East”, and approached him in the street.
“I just spotted him in the street in Hong Kong, and I went up to him and said, ‘Hello, you’re Tony Measor, aren’t you? I’d like to become your client.’”
John went on to persuade Measor to mentor him. Their relationship lasted around 20 years, during which John learnt how to assess and value shares, developing an expertise that would become one of the three pillars of his working life.
Asked whether Sedbergh had given him the confidence to approach someone of Measor’s standing, John’s answer is unequivocal: “Without a shadow of doubt.”
He describes his career as a three-legged stool: law, shares and property. Diversifying his interests meant that, when one area was performing less well, another might offer opportunities. It was an approach that allowed him to combine his legal expertise with his interest in business, while remaining alert to all the possibilities.
John has continued to combine his interests in law and share trading throughout his working life. Aged 75, he still undertakes notary work and trades shares in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines.
Building a business from scratch
By 2003, after around 25 years working as a solicitor specialising in cross-border litigation, John was ready for a change. He wanted to move away from resolving legal disputes and towards non-contentious work, and recognised the potential of qualifying as a notary public.
Having previously worked as a notary in Hong Kong, he understood the opportunities the profession offered in facilitating international transactions. He qualified as a notary public in England and established his own practice in 2003, starting from scratch with no clients and four children he was determined to educate privately.
It was a leap, but John had confidence in the idea and in his ability to make it work.
He began advertising through the online directory Yell.com, and later used Google advertising to help grow the practice. There was sufficient demand for him to expand the business and recruit a team of experienced professionals. Fast-forward to 2020, and the practice was receiving thousands of enquiries each year, and his business partner described the venture as “the business idea of a lifetime”. For John, its success reinforced a principle that has guided his decisions throughout his career.
“You’ve got to seize your opportunities when you get them, and take calculated risks.”
Law, civilisation and the opportunities of AI
John’s interest in law has extended well beyond his professional practice. Through the Allen & Overy network, he developed intellectual collaborations with fellow legal thinkers, including Philip Wood and David Sutton. These discussions, alongside his wider interest in legal history and the development of societies, led him to explore a broader question: what role does law play in the development and survival of civilisation?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, John contributed an online lecture examining how law and civilisation in England had failed and subsequently succeeded. The work developed into further talks, panel discussions and, eventually, his book, What Makes Civilisation? (Softwood Books, 2026).
His central argument is that law provides the framework through which societies regulate behaviour and resolve disputes without resorting to conflict. “Without law, we would have no civilisation,” he says.
He is also interested in the potential of artificial intelligence to make legal knowledge more accessible and affordable. With the volume of law becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to manage, he sees AI as a necessary development that could help lawyers work more efficiently and reduce costs.
John points to the rapid improvement in AI’s ability to analyse legal information and assist with complex tasks. Rather than seeing this solely as a threat to the profession, he believes it presents significant opportunities, particularly for firms willing to embrace innovation.
The challenge, John believes, is to combine technological advances with the expertise and judgement of excellent lawyers. There is considerable scope for those who can understand the law, communicate its importance and apply their knowledge in new ways. Working with the Allen & Overy network, John’s current project is to reconcile for international business all 320 jurisdictions in the world through AI.
Learning from adversity
John’s dyslexia and dyspraxia went unrecognised in his youth. He struggled with examinations and found it difficult to get started on essays, despite having plenty of ideas he wanted to express. During his legal studies, repetition and rote learning helped him find a way to work through these challenges. The experience taught him to find practical ways around obstacles rather than be defeated by them, a determination that would serve him well throughout his career. He recognises that, with greater awareness and support for dyslexia and dyspraxia today, his experience might have been very different.
“In life, you are more shaped by adversity than success,” he says.
Among John’s proudest achievements are his four children. Three went on to Oxford or Cambridge, while the fourth graduated with a first-class degree in law and accountancy from Leeds before becoming a chartered accountant and company director. For John, their achievements reflect the importance of perseverance and of helping others realise their potential.
Advice for the next generation
At 17, few people know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. John encourages pupils to work hard, gain a professional qualification and build experience early, while keeping an open mind about where their skills might take them. Researching potential employers, exploring different professions and reading beyond the A level syllabus can all help uncover opportunities they might otherwise miss.
As a pupil, John could hardly have predicted that he would later establish his own notary practice, develop an expertise in international share trading or write a book exploring the relationship between law and civilisation. Each new direction grew from interests and possibilities that emerged along the way.
His message to current pupils is not to have every step mapped out, but to build a strong foundation, recognise opportunities and have the confidence to act on them.
And what about luck?
John is unconvinced that success comes down to chance.
“Luck has nothing to do with success in life,” he writes. “You create your own luck.”