Gemma Lynch Email & Phone Number

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

• Primarily working on contentious complex claims acting for lenders as both claimant and defendant in various disputes. • Managing several portfolios consisting of, defended financial product mis-selling claims, with a focus on strategy and risk management. • Specialist subjects include CCA specific issues, including, section 75 consumer disputes and section 140 unfair relationship claims.• Assisting in supporting the management of the team in Birmingham by supervising a team of… Show more • Primarily working on contentious complex claims acting for lenders as both claimant and defendant in various disputes. • Managing several portfolios consisting of, defended financial product mis-selling claims, with a focus on strategy and risk management. • Specialist subjects include CCA specific issues, including, section 75 consumer disputes and section 140 unfair relationship claims.• Assisting in supporting the management of the team in Birmingham by supervising a team of Associates and Paralegals across several portfolios of work and ensuring that the work is done to a high standard to meet client expectations.• Utilising an in-house perspective to consider how a judge, ombudsman, or regulator might adjudicate a complaint/claim. Ability to balance the needs of client’s, customers and business stakeholders in order to give clear objective advice to clients that manages the dispute risk but also factors in a commercial rationale in regards to resolving disputes where suitable. • Using in-house experience to provide strategic advice whilst also taking into account the wider implications and critical risks. • Always striving to get the right results for clients, with a commercial and dispute risk focus, all whilst meeting client expectations. Show less

Birmingham, United Kingdom

• Legal Counsel April 2011 - April 2014, Senior Legal Counsel May 2014 to present.• Part of a small team of lawyers responsible for the bank’s UK financial services disputes, investigations and advisory work. The team negotiated and managed all costs with a focus on cost savings. • Lead lawyer for the bank’s PPI project. Advising on strategy for the complaints across all brands for HBUK, portfolio of claims both pre-action and issued. Ensuring compliance with the regulator guidance and… Show more • Legal Counsel April 2011 - April 2014, Senior Legal Counsel May 2014 to present.• Part of a small team of lawyers responsible for the bank’s UK financial services disputes, investigations and advisory work. The team negotiated and managed all costs with a focus on cost savings. • Lead lawyer for the bank’s PPI project. Advising on strategy for the complaints across all brands for HBUK, portfolio of claims both pre-action and issued. Ensuring compliance with the regulator guidance and steering the business in terms of engagements with the regulator and/or Financial Ombudsman Service. Responsible (in partnership with Regulatory Compliance) for overseeing and approving all changes to procedures and correspondence. Attended several forums to assist internal stakeholders to ensure that the bank complied with the ever changing legal and regulatory landscape. Provided day to day advice across all brands to ensure a consistent approach and delivered lessons learned messages to improve the quality of the bank responses as well as feedback on the performance of the strategy. • Lead lawyer on the professional negligence cases which varied from solicitor’s failing to register security to negligent valuations. This involved advising the business, retaining appropriate experts to run the cases and managing them accordingly. • Collaborated with another lawyer to manage claims and complaints made under s75 of the Consumer Credit Act (before it was outsourced) including group claims for a variety of products including solar panels, roof coating and timeshares. •Revised branch procedures relating to legal matters by streamlining them with a focus on simplification and consistency.• Managed the legal risk piece for the Repayment Services team which involved escalation of areas of concern and attendance at the monthly forum. The latest focus was on re-engagement post COVID. • Advisory work to all parts of the business on disputes, complaints handling and remediation. Show less

Birmingham, United Kingdom

• Seats in personal injury, conveyancing and litigation. The focus was on litigation from December 2007 until my departure.• This was a hands on role with no secretarial support so encompassed client care, billing, funding options, managing costs, instructing experts, advising and litigation from start to finish with all it entailed. Ran a bulk caseload of 200-300 cases whilst supporting three partners. Advocacy on application hearings and small claims trials. The caseload ranged from… Show more • Seats in personal injury, conveyancing and litigation. The focus was on litigation from December 2007 until my departure.• This was a hands on role with no secretarial support so encompassed client care, billing, funding options, managing costs, instructing experts, advising and litigation from start to finish with all it entailed. Ran a bulk caseload of 200-300 cases whilst supporting three partners. Advocacy on application hearings and small claims trials. The caseload ranged from recovery of goods to consumer credit advice to guarantee claims to insolvency cases. This was a heavily cost targeted role with very close connections to key clients which included attending their offices to deal with disclosure exercises. Show less

Northampton, United Kingdom

• This was a role in the Secured Banking Litigation Department, which was new at the time. The work entailed enforcement of personal guarantees which were provided by individuals in consideration for business lending. The caseload consisted of circa 150 files whilst supporting a partner and senior colleague.