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The head of international law firm Womble Bond Dickinson's (WBD) UK intellectual property (IP) practice has been recognised for his impact made on the Yorkshire legal community and extensive volunteer work.

James Love has been named Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year at the 2024 Yorkshire Legal Awards, an honour which goes to the lawyer who is not only a leader in their practice area, but serves as a standout role model for the profession in Yorkshire and beyond.

James, who has been with the firm since 2019, was recognised by the judges for "his professional achievements but also with his extensive voluntary work. His journey from a city firm to establishing his own practice in Yorkshire, while maintaining strong international connections, is commendable.”

Since joining WBD, James currently takes a position on the firm's global board and helped raise IP team income by more than 150% since joining, also taking a position in the Hall of Fame of leading directory Legal 500 for his expertise in the field.

It was not just his industry leading work which was recognised, such as his oversight of the precedent-setting and landmark judgment involving Yorkshire rail-industry manufacturer Geofabrics Limited against an international competitor backed by Fortune 500 company Berry Global, but his charity and voluntary work.

James dedicates a significant portion of his time supporting initiatives outside of pure fee-earning work, including as an in-house champion for the firm's Disability Network and as an official ambassador for specialist college and charity Henshaws.

James said: 

"To be named Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year is an incredible honour and I am very grateful to the committee for selecting me out of what is a fantastic crop of lawyers at the top of their fields. It's been a pleasure being able to serve not only this great region but spread its achievements to the world over the course of my career and this is a special accolade which I thoroughly appreciate.

"I look forward to being able to continue supporting clients across all stages and scopes to help them achieve their goals, as well as keep giving back to the groups and organisations which mean so much to me and who make the important differences to our region."

WBD was nominated for two other awards on the night, with the firm's wider IP team nominated for IP team of the year, and the firm's Leeds office nominated for best ESG campaign.

James Love named Yorkshire Lawyer of the YearJames Love named Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year