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 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.