Peter Rank has dedicated his adult life to the study, teaching and administration of Law and Justice, firstly as an academic lawyer, and later as a barrister-at-law, practising on the Midland Circuit.
A recipient of the Andrew Marvell Jackson prizes (Hull University) in 1968 and 1969, Peter won a Harmsworth Entrance Scholarship to his Inn of Court in 1970 before later specialising in Chancery and Family Law.
During his academic career he tutored students at Universities in London and Nottingham, before returning to Staffordshire where he taught in the Law School for 15 years. During those years he published upwards of 80 articles and book reviews in Professional Journals, including The Conveyancer, Solicitors’ Journal, the New Law Journal and the Staffordshire Jurist.
In 1984 Peter served his Pupillage with William Wood Q.C. in Birmingham, and later set up the only Barristers’ Chambers in Stoke-on-Trent, where he became Head in 1994.
“I’ve always had a keen interest in the life and times of the six Potteries Towns and its people, and I’m very proud to have worked at the University and served the local community as an advocate and as a Judge.”
His local credentials were underlined by an unprecedented sitting at a local hostelry - the White Hart in Uttoxeter, where he agreed to sit, fully robed, in order to resolve a dispute involving a sailing boat, and giving new meaning to the expression - ‘called to the Bar’.
In 2017, District Judge Peter Michael Rank retired from the District Bench.
His voluntary work has included service on his local Parish Council and Parochial Church Council, together with appointments to two governing bodies of local schools.
The award of Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University is bestowed upon Peter in recognition of his contribution to the legal profession and his dedication in improving people’s daily lives and bringing resolution to conflict and disputes which affect families, neighbourhoods and communities.