MARGARET Simpson juggles two very diverse jobs - top matrimonial lawyer and hands-on organic farmer.

She is just as happy in business suit and in the powerful arena of a courtroom as she is in wellies, mucking out down on the farm.

Mrs Simpson, 42, who lives at Thirlby, near Thirsk, has just been appointed by Northern law firm, Dickinson Dees, to head its private client team at the firm's Tees Valley office at Teesdale in Stockton.

She has worked in the Tees Valley for a number of years and has acted in many divorces where business assets have been of major significance.

She moved from London to North Yorkshire 17 years ago, when her husband, Tom, began working for ICI on Teesside.

But, when their family came along and after going through various nannies, the couple decided that one of them should stay at home and look after the children.

"We sat down to decide, using plusses and minuses, which of us should stay at home" she said. "Tom wasn't passionate about chemicals but I was passionate about the law, so he decided to take an agricultural course and look after the children and became a house-husband, a word he hates, or carer.

"It was the right decision and he has enjoyed it very much. It worked very well for us. He fitted in well with the young mothers' school, scouts, and recorder practice runs. I was always left out of any such discussions when other mothers came to the door."

The fact that she and her husband were able to do this hasn't escaped her. "I know we were fortunate enough to be able to do this financially. Many parents have no choice.

"We bought a smallholding and set about converting it to organic status. We now manage a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle and a flock of Wensleydale sheep. We live on the south side of the North York Moors, in an area of great natural beauty. Our village community and the surrounding countryside are perfect contrasts to a busy professional life."

Mr Simpson has now gone back to his career, but not to the chemical industry.

"Now that the children are older, William is 11, Libby, nine, he felt the need to go and work in an adult world and is head hunting in Harrogate. We now manage the runs for the children between us, with the help of Tom's lovely parents and by being very organised and thinking and planning ahead."

Talking about her "other life" as a divorce lawyer, Margaret said: "I didn't intend going into the matrimonial side but there appeared to be a gap for a lady divorce solicitor and I got into it in the Eighties and now work exclusively in this area.

"A divorce can be straightforward, but in other cases, where there is a business interest or pensions to sort out, complications can set in. Husbands can be very protective of their pensions, although things are moving on in this line and it is accepted that a woman who has shared her life with someone and brought up a family has a right to a portion of her husband's pension.

"And then, when children are involved, it can become very traumatic and upsetting. This is why, after the pressure of city or court life, it is a wonderful release to come home to my lovely village, don old clothes and get out in the fresh air.