DCQ Podcast Special Sits #20 - Frances Coulson

This episode features a conversation with Frances E. Coulson, a partner and Head of Insolvency and Restructuring at the independent London law firm Westlake Bell. In this episode Frances looks back at her impressive career so far which started in the mid-1980s. As a true trail blazer in the Special Sits space in London, Europe and beyond, Frances was awarded in 2024 by IWIRC (the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation) entrance to the Women in Restructuring Hall of Fame. Growing up in Sheffield in the North of England, she was inspired to pursue a career in law by her late dad, who was a solicitor at a local firm, where Frances already started to help from the age of 11 onwards. After completing the Sheffield High School for Girls she studied law at King’s College Law, having unsuccessfully tried first to get into Oxford University. She met her husband, who studied Chemistry, while at King’s College and they married immediately after graduation. From the outset her husband completely supported the pursuit by Frances of her career as a lawyer in the Special Sits space. That made all the difference. Frances started her training contract in 1984 with Moon Bever, a City firm dating back to 1851. In 1986, the year in which the Insolvency Act of 1986 was adopted in the UK, Frances qualified as a solicitor. She became a partner in 1988 and Managing Partner in 2000. In July 2021, Moon Bever decided to merge with Westlake Bell. Frances has done a lot and still is doing a lot. She is the current president of INSOL Europe and a past president (2011-2012) of the insolvency trade body R3 in the UK as well. She further serves (since April 2022) as a non-executive director of the UK Insolvency Service. She is a board trustee since 2013 of the Fraud Advisory Board charity. She is further a special constable with the National Crime Agency (awarded a commendation in 2014) and a founding partner of a transatlantic law firm network venture Shawn Coulson. For 12 years (since 2001) she also was involved in ACCA (the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) as well as in the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). Outside her professional life, Frances enjoys family time with her husband and three daughters, she rides horses, plays hockey and walks the dogs. In this DCQ Special Sits episode, which was recorded on 31 May 2026, Frances shares, in her honest and no-nonsense way, her views and experiences on a great number of relevant topics and issues, including: The very early matters that introduced her to the Special Sits space: “(…) We were largely a plaintiff or claimant firm, so we acted for businesses pursuing debt. In that way you obviously came into contact with bankruptcy and winding-up. Bankruptcy, my word, that was hard work. Doing individual bankruptcy petitions by hand and then going down to court to issue them, queuing up for a long time while the bankruptcy clerk found fault. One word wrong, and you would be sent back to the back of the queue (…)” What her why is for doing what she is doing in the Special Sits space: “(…) Every day is different. I think it is a great gift to come into work, and you are never bored. There is variety every day. There is new challenge every day. (…)” What a key characteristic for longevity in the Special Sits space is: “(…) Certainly resilience, because we get a lot of flak, coming to a situation which is already bad. And we are the person that is visible (…)” How to juggle everything without dropping the ball: “(…) I think you have to value yourself in various ways. You have to value your personal time and your personal relationships, so you do have some boundaries. (…) Sometimes you need to say no I can’t do that, because I am doing this. (…) Just because someone has sent you something on email doesn’t mean that it is any more important than had they sent something by post necessarily. (…) The question is not more simple just because it is sent electronic instead of on paper. (…)” and much more – enjoy! Thank you & please subscribe/follow. For more details on Frances, follow this link: https://wedlakebell.com/people/france...