Forbes Solicitors appoints new debt recovery team leader

Forbes Solicitors has appointed Laura Docker in the newly created role of debt recovery team leader, as the firm continues to strengthen its Insolvency and Debt Recovery team.

Laura’s arrival follows the appointment of two paralegals to the team during the past 12 months and is in response to growing demand from North West SMEs for payment dispute advice and commercial debt recovery services. 

A Chartered Legal Executive, Laura has 12 years’ experience covering financial litigation, dispute resolution, bankruptcy and winding up proceedings, and claims for money under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 7. She has previously acted for a range of commercial lenders including asset finance houses, as well as businesses working throughout a range of different sectors. 

Commenting on her appointment, Laura Docker said: “Forbes’ Insolvency and Debt Recovery team provides a very people-focused service that understands the stress and pressures that outstanding debt can cause business owners and leaders. This, along with the team’s emphasis on providing straightforward and practical advice, really appealed to me. I’m looking forward to supporting efforts to further expand the debt recovery part of the team and helping businesses avoid financial headaches caused by bad debtors.”

Chris Bowers, a partner and head of department, Insolvency, added: “Challenging economic conditions are driving a trend of late payments and bad debt. In turn, businesses – and especially SMEs – are now acting much quicker to seek professional advice and assistance to recover what they are owed, before debts become irrecoverable. 

“Inflation seems to be easing and there are signs of growing business outputs and confidence. Although this is a positive, many businesses are still plugging holes in order books, while margins are still suffering after years of high operating costs. The effects of this will continue to trickle down, prolonging payment issues and risking cashflow problems for creditors. Laura’s appointment helps expand our team’s capabilities to stay ahead of the demand for debt recovery services and ensure we continue to provide timely advice when businesses need it most, and before it’s too late to get what they are rightfully owed.”