Ian Barker (jurist)
Sir Richard Ian Barker (born 17 March 1934) is a New Zealand jurist. His legal career spanned over six decades. He was a lawyer for 20 years, followed by 20 years as a judge at the High Court, before he worked for another two decades as a mediator and arbitrator. Barker was involved in the law reform in the Cook Islands. Early life and family. Barker was born in Taumarunui in 1934. His parents were Kate Dorothy ( Humphrys) and Archibald Henry Barker. He received his education at a primary school in Taumarunui (St Patrick's Convent) before  attending boarding school in Auckland (Sacred Heart College). He went to the University of Auckland and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws in 1958. In 1965, he married Mary Christine Allardyce. They were to have two sons and three daughters. Legal career. Barker was admitted to the bar in the same year, in 1958, that he graduated. He was a barrister and solicitor from then onwards. From 1960 to 1969, he was a partner at Morpeth Gould and Co in Auckland. Between 1969 and 1976, he was a barrister working by himself. During this time , in 1973, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. In 1976, he was called to the High Court. He retired from the court in 1997 and had served six years as an executive judge. After finishing as a judge in New Zealand, Barker was a judge at the Cook Islands Court of Appeal. He sat as a judge in appeal courts in Fiji, the Pitcairn Islands (which is held in Auckland), Samoa, Vanuatu, and Kiribati. Barker retired from legal work in 2019. Since the 1980s, Barker has been a visiting fellow and lecturer at law schools in Australia, Canada, and  England (including Wolfson College, Cambridge). Barker was one of the founding members of Bankside Chambers in Auckland. Honours. Barker was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1994 New Year Honours. He received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from his alma mater in 1999.