New senior appointments in Finance Dispute Resolution and Debt Services

We are pleased to announce two strategic senior appointments within our Finance Dispute Resolution department and Debt Services department, further positioning Flint Bishop as a leader in the legal and financial services sectors.

Kate Hicks | Partner & Head of Finance Dispute Resolution

We are delighted to welcome Kate Hicks as Partner & Head of Finance Dispute Resolution, based at our Leeds office. Kate joins us with over 20 years of experience in the banking litigation field, bringing a wealth of expertise from her previous role at Yorkshire Building Society, as well as senior positions at Walker Morris LLP, Cobbetts Solicitors, and DLA Piper.

Kate is widely recognised for her leadership in managing high-stakes litigation in property and banking law, in addition to her extensive knowledge of the financial services property lending sector. Her skill set encompasses a wide range of legal matters, including the Consumer Credit Act, challenges to the enforceability of credit agreements, complex regulatory issues, and title rectification to ensure lenders’ security is properly perfected.

She also has a strong track record in asset finance, unsecured recoveries, and intricate secured recovery cases, and is highly skilled in handling breach of mandate claims, payment by mistake claims, operational fraud cases, and contract and tort disputes for banks, building societies, and other financial institutions.

This appointment is a key part of our growth strategy, especially following our acquisition of the Banking Litigation and Recoveries division from Walker Morris LLP and the launch of our new Leeds office. Kate’s leadership will be pivotal in driving our ambition to become a dominant force in the UK banking litigation and recoveries market.

Her expertise will play a crucial role in advancing our reputation as a trusted partner for banks and financial institutions handling complex disputes. We have no doubt that her addition to the team will accelerate our growth and help us achieve market leadership in this area.

Lee Osborne | Head of Operations, Debt Services

We are also pleased to announce that Lee Osborne has joined us as Head of Operations within our Debt Services, based at our Derby office. Lee brings over 25 years of experience in banking and financial services, previously serving as Services Director at CHL Mortgages, where he managed a £3.2 billion servicing book, and as Head of Operations at Aldermore Bank PLC.

Prior to this, Lee held the position of Head of Operations at Aldermore Bank PLC, where he spent nine years leading key functions, including mortgage collections and commercial and property development originations.

In his new role, Lee will work closely with Niall Gilhooley to further enhance our leadership team and support the team’s strategic planned growth. His extensive experience in operations, collections, and service delivery will be instrumental as we continue to expand our capabilities and invest in technology and innovation to better serve our clients.

This appointment comes as our Debt Services division has seen phenomenal growth over the past 12 to 18 months, with our team now exceeding 150 FTEs, as we continue to secure or extend third-party debt-related partnerships with several UK household name brands across the energy, utilities, telecoms, banking, financial services, and B2B commercial supply chain.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Kate and Lee as they embark on their new roles. Their expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to pursue our strategic goals and deliver exceptional service to our clients.