Woods Whur

Andrew Woods and Paddy Whur went to school together at Hymers College in Hull. After returning from university and law school they became reacquainted at Gosschalks Solicitors working for Les Green ("the Bull from Hull") in the licensing department and criminal department. Andy and Paddy cut their teeth on criminal advocacy in the Hull and East Riding Magistrates' Courts. At the same time they started to develop their licensing experience on a national basis for William Hill and a significant number of alcohol led operators.

Andy and Paddy, had practised as licensing lawyers for over twenty years, before they launched Woods Whur Solicitors in October 2011. They are supported by Carole Collingwood as their practice manager who has worked with Paddy since November 1999. The firm was established in Leeds after the whole team and client base amicably left Walker Morris transferring to the current premises on York Place in Leeds. Acknowledging the importance of the administration of licensed estates Woods Whur invested in a bespoke practice management system created by Select Legal. This system was designed in conjunction with Woods Whur from scratch to provide a "paperless" environment for the process of applications and the management of licensed estates. This system also has the capacity to allow clients password protected access to all of their cases.

Woods Whur continue to receive independent praise from the Chambers Directory and Legal 500. Andrew Woods and Paddy Whur both enjoy Tier 1 Rankings in these guides to the legal profession.

Anna Mathias joined the firm in February 2015. Anna has been a specialist licensing barrister for over fifteen years and has significant gambling law practice which has broadened our reach in to a wider land based, e-gaming and lotteries client base.

We were delighted that Colin Manchester (former Professor of licensing at Birmingham and Warwick University) agreed to be a consultant to the firm providing an additional tier of legal knowledge. He is author of "Manchester on Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Law" now in its third edition, which is published by Woods Whur Publishing.

Currently the team are writing the Gambling Law sister edition along with the fourth edition of the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Law book. These editions will be published some time in 2017.

Woods Whur's ethos is that the lawyer you see at the initial stages of taking instructions will represent you at the final hearing, fixed fees will be agreed during the initial stage of instructions to give certainty.

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Alcohol Beverage Law	1
Municipal Law	1