Lawyer James Wood joins Westbank’s Board of Trustees to further the charity’s commercial interests

Devon-wide health and well-being charity Westbank Community Health and Care is delighted to welcome personal injury lawyer James Wood as its newest Trustee. His appointment was confirmed by the board on Wednesday (27th April). 

James, who’s a paraplegic following a motorcycle accident as a young man, lives in Exeter and is a former Managing Director of a unique legal service called Aspire Law. Set up as a joint venture between Aspire Charity and a leading UK law firm, it made significant gains in the personal injury market under James’ stewardship - resulting in a lucrative extra income stream for Aspire’s charitable work. 

Westbank is an award-winning, local charity that promotes and improves the well-being of communities and individuals across Devon. It employs almost 200 staff across the county, supported by an army of more than 600 volunteers.

James says, “I think I’m a good fit for Westbank, having worked for both private business and the charitable sector, developing mutually beneficial services. I hope this experience will translate to my work as a Trustee for Westbank and add value to the charity.”

He adds, “I’ll be wearing my charitable hat, my lawyer hat and my commercial hat to see how I can best support Westbank. I’d like to think I could provide some insight and innovation to realise income from sources other than the ‘usual’ routes.” 

James is used to swimming against the tide. He took a year out from his legal career to swim the English Channel in 2010, in partnership with the Spinal Injuries Association for whom he was for six years Vice Chair.