About John Barkers:

John Barkers Solicitors has been a cornerstone of the Humber region’s legal community for over 140 years, providing expert legal services to personal and business clients.

The firm is undergoing a three-firm merger of three well established law firms within the region - John Barkers Solicitors, Symes Bains Broomer Limited, and Brewer Wallace Limited - into a single, unified entity by 2026.

This strategic move is about more than just growth; it’s about becoming a force for good in the Humber region - a firm that stands for quality, accessibility, and innovation in legal services. To achieve their vision, they needed a technology partner they could trust - one that could provide stability, security, and the right technology and service provision.

A relationship built on trust and expertise

For CEO Jonathan Stone, the journey with OneAdvanced goes back over two decades. Having started his career as a paralegal at John Barkers Solicitors in 2000, he quickly took on the role of IT Manager, overseeing the firm’s technology evolution. “OneAdvanced has been part of our journey for years. What has always stood out is the trust we have in them. From the start, it’s never been about selling us a product - it’s about finding the right solutions for our business. They understand what we need, when we need it, and most importantly, why we need it.” - Jonathan Stone, CEO, John Barker Solicitors.

As the firm grew, so did the need for a modern, scalable, and compliant legal technology platform. When it came time to review their IT infrastructure, the choice was clear - OneAdvanced had already proven its reliability.

It’s about technology that enables growth and stability

The legal sector is continually evolving, and IT is no longer solely about support, it’s about enablement.

A pivotal moment in the firm’s history came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike many competitors who struggled to stay operational, John Barkers was able to quickly transition to an agile remote working model, without disruption. Jon reflected and told us, “our IT systems kept us in the fight during COVID, while others were scrambling to adapt, we were up and running the next day. Our staff could take their desktop PCs home, log in remotely, and continue to serve clients. We actually grew during that time - something I attribute directly to the stability of our systems.” This level of resilience and flexibility is what OneAdvanced’s cloud-based solutions now offer on a permanent basis:

• Scalability for future growth: Whether it’s adding two new staff members, or merging three firms into one, the cloud-based platform removes hardware constraints, enabling seamless expansion.
• Security & Compliance: Having experts within OneAdvanced who understand the legal sector, they’ve been able to build in compliance tools that align to SRA regulations and GDPR standards, meaning the firm can be confident in its management of sensitive client data.
• Integrated financial reporting: Unlike some competitor products that can often rely on third-party tools and complicated integrations, OneAdvanced Legal provides full embedded accounts functionality, ensuring complete financial oversight across all entities.

Jon continued, “Choosing OneAdvanced over other providers was an easy decision. Their platform doesn’t just match the competition - it exceeds it. Having built-in accounts functionality gives us a fully integrated solution, rather than relying on disjointed third-party tools.”