“AFCA has seen a 40 per cent increase in complaints received in the year to 31 October 2019 compared to complaints made to AFCA’s predecessor schemes,” she said.

“Consumer awareness and greater regulatory scrutiny mean that financial institutions, more than ever, must work harder to comply with the law and satisfy community expectations. FinLaw will provide a valuable service for firms to resource up to meet these challenges and peak demands.”

FinLaw has been founded by David Cooper, Sarah Street and Fiona Dernikovic.

The business will look to assist banks and financial services organisations in a post-Hayne royal commission world, “where legal and risk departments have never been under more pressure”, FinLaw said in a statement.

“At the same time, many practitioners are seeking the flexibility that locum work can provide.”

Mr Cooper said: “We immediately understand the complex legal issues that clients are facing and are better placed to identify the consultants with the right skill set. This leads to great outcomes for both clients and consultants.”

“Increasingly, lawyers are looking for flexible roles, whether it be professionals returning to the workforce or people in the ‘second phase’ of their career who are exceptionally experienced but don’t want or need to make a long-term career path,” Ms Street added.

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Ms Denikovic reflected that with so much focus on financial institutions’ management of risk and regulation, there is a lot of pressure on in-house teams and this venture meets that need with high-quality, vetted legal and risk specialists on a temporary basis.