The meaning of a successful life cannot be clearly defined. However, there are some traits that are common in all successful people. Probably the most important trait has a clear dream and goal in life. There are many examples of individuals who made the impossible possible through sheer will and persistence. One such individual is the widely known solicitor and senior lawyer, Alan Kitchin.
Success has a different meaning for every person. Modern society has long promoted the idea of success in life, as becoming rich and famous. But this is not what success means to everyone. Not every person gears their efforts towards only earning huge amounts of money or becoming world-renowned. For many people, success in life can be as simple as being able to sufficiently provide for their family or being able to retire without having to worry much about the upcoming bills.
In order to achieve true success in life, it is imperative that a person determine their goals in life and stay true to them. Life has a way of making difficult things even harder. The road a person must take to succeed is a perilous one riddled with hardships. Only by staying true to a specific cause can a person prevail over them and stand on the top. Alan Kitchin is a person who climbed the stairs of success with determination and patience.
Alan Kitchin was born in Northampton, England. If a person was to try and guess Alan’s background from his current success, they would think that he belonged to some high-profile family well established in the law or business background. However, this could not be further from the truth. Alan did not have any strong or wealthy family that could support his future endeavors. His father was a coal miner and worked deep underground in the Whitehaven coal mines that stretched out to the sea. At that time the work was always dirty and often dangerous, with frequent mine collapses. But realizing that everyone “ is equal under the law,” Alan wanted to become a lawyer to assist the poor and the disadvantaged. He went to a free school – Kettering Technical college in Northamptonshire (a county in the middle of England), where his hard work and efforts helped him stand above all others, and he was the first student to ever be accepted by Cambridge University (Gonville and Caius College) from that school. As he was still too young to attend Cambridge, The University awarded him a scholarship to attend the British Institute in France for a year before joining the University. From this came Alan’s lifelong love of art. At that time, he appeared on National Television with the local member of Parliament, Sir Peter Fry, when the Nene Valley Times local newspaper hailed him as “ a Young Man of destiny. “
Alan went on to win the Senior Squire scholarship in Law and a senior Tapp University Scholarship. He was also awarded the Tapp Postgraduate scholarship in law on graduation.
After graduation, Alan gained experience by working with some of the most famous international law firms, such as the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London and New York. As one of his competitors remarked, “Alan Kichin is the sort of lawyer you would want to work with“ as he is a great lawyer, fast and pragmatic.” Very soon, he was headhunted to become a partner in Ashurst, which is a leading international law firm. His experience and expertise in business management made him an ideal choice to spread operations internationally. He became a senior managing partner and led Ashurst operations in Japan and Asia. He became qualified as a foreign lawyer in Japan in 1991 and was chosen to become the Chairman of the Law Asia Committee on Energy. He worked with Ashurst for 20 years before starting his own law practice and becoming the Managing Partner of Simpson Kitchin LLP.
After becoming a renowned authority in the law field, Alan became a non-executive chairman of the property company AK properties Ltd and the trading company West Business Group Services Ltd.
Alan also wanted to spread the knowledge he had gained over time in the global industry and has lectured at Stanford University with the American Law Institute on International trade.
Alan is also the founding shareholder in Thornbury Water and Reox Limited, a medical research company. Alan is a part of its board with other members, including Sir Peter Ratcliffe, who won the Nobel prize for medicine.
Alan is an inspiration for all who believe that success is not possible without wealthy parents or expensive private education. Alan grew up believing that all things were possible for those who were brave enough to try. As he said in a speech at Stanford, “ Obstacles are things that you see when you take your eyes off your goals. “
Alan is a committed Christian working closely with the charity Christian Action and also devotes a great deal of time to pro bono work.
