shared living accommodation with Arthur Hughes who later married Mary Vivian Hughes whose book A London Family 1870–1900 mentions Atkin. He eventually established a practice in commercial law, in particular in work on behalf of the London Stock Exchange, and became known as a subtle advocate with no need to rely on theatrical effects. His practice grew from about 1900 and made a favourable impression when appearing before the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith who was sitting as an arbitrator. Asquith was so impressed that he secured a pupillage for his own son Raymond at Atkin's chambers. By 1906, The Times considered him probably the busiest junior at the Bar. In that year Atkin took silk. Once John Hamilton was made a judge in 1909 and Scrutton in 1910, Atkin dominated the commercial Bar. Judge He became a judge of the King's Bench division of the High Court in 1913, receiving a knighthood. Work at the King's Bench involved him in criminal cases which had been outside his experience as a barrister but he established a high reputation as a criminal judge. Reputedly, Atkin enjoyed his six years at the King's Bench more than any others of his legal career. The following nine at the Court of Appeal he enjoyed the least. Atkin became a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1919. In the 1920 case of Meering v Graham-White Aviation Co Ltd Atkin showed his disapproval of unjustified restriction on civil liberties by holding (obiter) that a person could sue for false imprisonment even under circumstances where he had been unaware of his imprisonment at the time. Again in 1920, in Everett v Griffiths Atkin held that Everett was owed a duty of care by a Board of Guardians who had detained him as insane on inadequate grounds. However, Lord Justices Scrutton and Bankes held otherwise and their majority prevailed over Atkin's dissenting judgment. From 1928 until his death he was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary under the title Baron Atkin, of Aberdovey, in the County of Merioneth. An Anglican, Atkin was strongly motivated by his Christian faith and relied on testing the law against the demands of common sense and the interests of the ordinary working man. He came to a settled view early on in hearing a case and, as a Law Lord, his colleagues often found him indefatigable in his opinions