It only seems like yesterday that having talked about setting up our own firm for many years Paddy and I eventually decided to form Woods Whur on 1 October 2011. We had a very short window to get everything up and running which with the benefit of hindsight was probably a good thing as it meant that we never really stopped to think about all of the hard work involved in setting up a new law firm.
We were delighted to announce recently that Paul Holland was also joining the team and Paddy and I have known Paul for longer than all three of us would care to remember! When Paddy and I started practising as solicitors in Hull Magistrates Court over twenty five years ago Paul was already a well established and well respected advocate. Paul specialises in licensing with over thirty years of advocacy experience and represents his clients both before licensing committees and on appeals under the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005. Paul has considerable experience of dealing with the licensing requirements of all clients ranging from a small corner shop to an international sports stadium. He has a significant network of contacts within the regulatory authorities of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and we are very excited about working with Paul in the future. Paul can be contacted on 07702 802 470 or Paul@woodswhur.co.uk.
We have been extremely fortunate to work with a number of great clients and to be involved in some significant licensing cases. We have appeared before local authorities throughout the United Kingdom and in Crown Courts and in the last few months have been involved in some ground breaking cases involving Fabric nightclub and Park Lane Casino. Kerry Welburn and Carole Collingwood have been with us since day one and indeed it would be remiss of me not to mention that on 8 November 2016 Carole celebrated (!!) seventeen years of working with Paddy. Tanya Broadhurst who we worked with at Walker Morris came back to work with us at Woods Whur which was great news and we have been exceptionally pleased with Amy Hayward who joined us earlier this year.
It is also hard to imagine that Anna Mathias has now been with us for nearly two years. Anna has settled in and is a great addition to the firm and a great advert for the firm. Anna has dealt with numerous cases particularly in the gambling sector and is an exceptionally experienced and well respected barrister within the industry. The only disappointment for Anna is that during her time at Woods Whur her beloved Swindon Town have not enjoyed the same success as she has although she remains a loyal and devoted follower. I am sure that Paul Holland who is a big fan of Hull City will be hoping that his team and Anna’s team do not meet each other in the near future!
Paddy and I would like to express our sincere thanks to all of our clients who we thoroughly enjoy working with and all the local and responsible authorities involved in our cases. The leisure sector continues to be a great industry to work in and we hope that we continue to do so for many years.