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CIVIL LAW
Commercial/Civil Fraud:
Francis has a growing practice in this area. In 2009
his cases included:
· A £1.5 million commercial dispute over the restitution of monies paid ancillary to rent, involving applications before the High Court for freezing injunctions.
· A civil fraud involving employment agencies and employees worth around £150,000;
· A contractual dispute between a solicitors firm and a supplier worth £60,000
· A number of disputes between recruitment agencies and companies over the payment of commission charges.
Francis’s expertise in the area of asset forfeiture makes him well placed to advise corporations and individuals on interim measures necessary before embarking upon claims, including especially freezing injunctions.
Personal Injury and Credit Hire:
Francis represents claimants and defendants in all areas of personal injury. His cases range from standard fast track road traffic cases to complex cases involving issues such as work-place bullying, psycho physiological illness and carbon monoxide poisoning. He is well placed to act and advise from the earliest stages, when issues such as permission to instruct experts may be of critical importance. Francis is very experienced at dealing with the credit hire claims that often arise from road traffic cases.
Employment: Francis acts for employers and employees in employment tribunal cases involving issues of unfair dismissal and discrimination.
Other areas: Francis acts for both claimants and defendants in the areas of insolvency, landlord and tenant, housing and licensing.
CRIMINAL/DISCIPLINARY LAW & ASSET FORFEITURE
Crime:
In 2009, Francis acted as leading junior (at 8 years call) against two Queen’s Counsel in a five week passport conspiracy trial in which his client was co-accused with a solicitor who had countersigned a large number of passport applications.
He is currently instructed, alone, in an appeal against a conviction for murder and in appeals against four convictions for rape and serious sexual assault.
Francis is a highly experienced criminal practitioner and his cases, instructed alone and as a junior, range from multi-million VAT ‘MTIC’ frauds to cases of serious violence. Francis, who prosecutes and defends, is known as a fearless cross-examiner and a sympathetic jury advocate. He has a confident and fluent approach to legal argument, on paper and in court, and to date has an unbeaten record in the Court of Appeal (with two appeals against conviction –
in which he did not act at trial – pending).
Disciplinary Law:
Francis acts in disciplinary cases in front of quasi-governmental and private bodies. He recently appeared before the national board of a major political party in disciplinary proceedings involving an allegation of bribery.
Asset Forfeiture:
Francis, who was seconded to the Asset Forfeiture Department of the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office in 2007, is highly experienced in all areas of this specialised and ever growing area of law. His cases, before the High Court and Crown Court, involve post-conviction confiscation orders (including in MTIC frauds and drug conspiracies) and all pre- and post-conviction applications, including restraint, receivership and third party applications and applications for uplifts and reductions on the grounds of inadequacy. His expertise in this area complements his commercial
HUMAN RIGHTS
Immigration:
Commercial immigration applications. These include work permit appeals, County Court appeals against penalties for the employment of illegal workers and cases under the Ankara Agreement, one of which is about to be heard in the Court of Appeal. Francis also acts regularly in family immigration cases, involving visa appeals for relatives.Francis has a busy immigration practice. His asylum appeals, in the High Court and AIT, involve issues of persecution and inadequate protection on the grounds on political grounds and on a range of social group grounds. Francis is regularly instructed, for companies and individuals, in
Prison Law: Francis acts for prisoners in cases before the Parole Board, in disciplinary proceedings and in civil claims against the state for miss-treatment in prison. His cases in 2009/2010 involved a life prisoner 20 years over his tariff and two prisoners convicted of rape on indeterminate sentences.
Other Public Law/Cases involving public bodies: Francis acts for defendants in civil actions against the police, including wrongful arrest, miss-treatment and malicious prosecution. With his criminal and human rights background, he is well placed to advise in related cases affecting the liberty of the subject.
OTHER INFORMATION
- Elected member of the Committee of the Criminal Bar Association, 2007, in which position he has written five CBA responses to Government consultations relating to law reform;
- Thomas More, Hardwicke and pupilage scholar, Lincoln’s Inn; John Colston award, Bristol University;
- Interests include running (Francis ran the Flora London Marathon in 2008 and raised £2,500 for Cancer Research); skiing, riding, singing and politics
Media:
- Appeared on Radio Five Live as an 'expert in Immigration Law' to discuss the Semo case (deportation of convicted rapist suspended by High Court), 2010
- Article in Counsel Magazine on witness anonymity, 2008
- Article in Counsel Magazine on the role of the Lord Chancellor, 2007
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