Manolete Partners, the insolvency litigation funder, has announced that the former chief bankruptcy registrar Dr Stephen Baister will be joining the business as a senior advisor.

Stephen Baister is presented the Sabin Award by Frances Coulson

Baister, a former solicitor and licensed insolvency practitioner, is an honorary member of the Insolvency Lawyers Association and has been president of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management since 2010. He will take up his position formally with Manolete Partners in October.

Steven Cooklin, chief executive of Manolete, said: “The market is really accelerating so we could not have wished for someone with more experience and knowledge of the sector. Stephen is highly respected across the board and he will be a huge asset to our operation. There is no doubting the significant benefits he will bring to our business.”

Baister, a winner of the Sabin award for outstanding contribution to the insolvency profession at Credit Strategy’s Turnaround, Restructuring and Insolvency (TRI) Awards in 2016, said: “I am very much looking forward to my new role as senior advisor and working closely with Steven and the rest of the Manolete team. Manolete has taken insolvency litigation in a new direction.”

At the TRI Awards in October 2016, Frances Coulson, managing and client services partner at Moon Beever, presented the award to Baister. On that night, paying tribute to his contribution, she said: “At a time when judges and the legal profession are often challenged and when change seems to be all around us, Stephen Baister represents the important values that reflect our profession, namely honesty and integrity; a desire to make a difference in the best way possible and to treat all who come before him in a fair and proper manner.”