A former professional footballer whose career was cut short after a broken leg suffered just 10 minutes into his debut has joined the sports law team at McHale and Co.
James Berry, who was at Exeter City, joins the Altrincham law firm as a trainee solicitor.
Berry made his Exeter debut in 2007 at just 16, but after coming on as substitute in the 70th minute and scoring the game’s winning goal in the 75th, broke his leg just five minutes later in a challenge.
Although he carried on playing and later had a spell in Belgium, the seriousness of the injury meant he wasn’t able to fulfil his footballing dream and after retiring in 2011, went on to study law at university.
Partner Andrew McHale believes James’s experience will strengthen his firm’s offering.
He said: “We have a strong sports team here that will benefit from James’s first-hand experience. He has been through the youth ranks and made the step up the professional level which lots of players fail to achieve.
“We would like to help prospering young players develop and with the addition of James we have someone who can relate to what they are going through.”
Berry added: “Every young boy wants to play football for a living. Training every day with professionals was a great experience and I learnt a lot, not just on the pitch but also qualities such as discipline and focus, which have helped in the legal profession.”
