DAVID COLDRICK was born in Leeds in 1965 during a terrible snowstorm,which rather sets the scene.

He was educated at Broad Lane School, Bramley. Being a late starter, and not having obtained a scholarship by reason of being quite singularly innumerate, he continued at Lawnswood Comprehensive School. This burnt down whilst he was attending in 1980. It was rebuilt and subsequently demolished again in 2003, this time to make way for a monument to educational progress clad in the new municipal-chic colours of pastel pink and grey. There is still no blue plaque.

He won the 1984 'Leeds Mechanics Institute' prize for academic achievement (£10 was worth rather more in 1900). He studied Law at Nottingham University graduating with an LLB in 1987, and then went to Chester College of Law for the 1987-8 'hell session'. He trained at DLA (then Broomheads Sheffield), leaving in 1990 to complete his 'Articles' with Taylor and Emmet, an established Sheffield general practice. He subsequently became head of their private client department. He joined Wrigleys Solicitors in 1997 and in 1998, he became partner in charge of Sheffield operations, where he remains.

His clients include many private individuals and trusts with total funds under his trusteeship in the hundreds of millions of pounds. He has also dealt with private client operations involved in the collection of funds from the estates of deceased Lloyds Names on behalf of his client the Society and Corporation of Lloyds. He has wide technical and practical expertise in asset-protection-type issues, all aspects of wills, trusts, estates and personal capital taxes planning.

He became 'the Johnny Appleseed of the personal injury trusts sector' as author of the groundbreaking and now slightly-out-of-date, Coldrick on Personal Injury Trusts (Ark Group 2002). He is also author of Protecting the Assets of Older People (Ark Group – two editions, now out of print, but superseded by this work). He became editor of the national professional journal, Elderly Client Adviser, in June 2003. He has also contributed to various other professional journals such as Trusts and Estates Law Journal (Legalease), Tax Adviser (Chartered Institute of Taxation), Taxation (LexisNexis) Personal Injury Law Journal (Legalease), The Journal of Personal Injury Law (Thomson, Sweet and Maxwell), Association of Personal Injury Law News (APIL).

He is a member of the Panel of External Receivers of the Public Guardianship Office, a co-opted member of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of England and Wales 'Through Life Group', and a member of the Law Society, Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP), and Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE).

He is chair of the Sheffield Residential and Nursing Homes Association and was appointed to the Yorkshire Council of 'Business for Sterling' in September 2001.

He lives in Sheffield with his long-suffering wife Karen and three stepchildren, Danielle, Chloë and Nicole.

All of his works are written in a spirit of helpfulness and humility. Readers are encouraged to plant the knowledge in their own orchards and let it bear fruit in its own way. Advice on tree care, pruning and feeding are available from the author via david.coldrick@wrigleys.co.uk