Alex Francis

Alex acts for both claimants and respondents on employment law matters. His employment law experience includes claims across the spectrum of employment law, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and injunctive relief. Highlights include:

• Representing the Claimant in a ten day Employment Tribunal, concerning claims of sex discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and victimisation (against a silk and junior counsel).
• Representing the Claimant in an eight day employment Tribunal hearing against the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
• Successfully representing a Claimant teaching assistant in a three day unfair dismissal hearing which involved sensitive allegations of inappropriate physical contact with a pupil.
• Advising an inter-dealer broker on the enforceability of post-termination restrictions and pleading his defence to High Court breach of covenant claims (settled before trial).
• Advising an individual in the aftermath of her departure from an international consumer goods company, where she faced claims of breach of covenants, breach of directors’ duties, and breach of confidence (settled before trial).
• Successfully representing a Respondent recruitment agency in claims of direct race discrimination and victimisation.
• Successfully representing a Respondent retailer in claims of automatic unfair dismissal and whistleblowing detriment.
• Appearing in the ET for the successful Respondents on a contested preliminary issue to determine the membership of an 1890 Partnership.
• Advising the CFO of an AIM listed company on directors’ duties and potential claims of constructive dismissal.
• A multi-party team move case in the High Court, involving allegations of breach of covenant, unlawful means conspiracy and conspiracy to injure (as a pupil).
• Pre-action advice to the applicant in a potential team-move injunction and the negotiation of terms of settlement (as a pupil).
• Drafting statements of case in the High Court and Employment Tribunal.
• Drafting grounds of appeal to the EAT in a high profile worker status case.
• Numerous preliminary hearings in the Employment Tribunal.

Alex’s experience as a solicitor means that he is well placed to assist in complex commercial disputes, including as junior counsel. He has been involved in a range of commercial law matters, including:

• As junior counsel, for the Claimants in a high value Commercial Court dispute concerning claims of breach of contract, fraud and intimidation.
• Shareholder disputes (for minority and majority shareholders).
• Advice on a potential unfair prejudice petition.
• Potential claims relating to the compulsory transfer provisions in a shareholders’ agreement.
• Drafting a written advice in relation to an agent’s claim for unpaid commission.
• Drafting statements of case in various claims for breach of contract.
• A High Court appeal on an application to set aside a statutory demand.
• As a solicitor, advising clients in disputes before the High Court and in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. Clients included a major investment bank, in respect of allegations of professional negligence, an oil and gas company, in a dispute arising out of a Production Sharing Agreement and an oil exploration company in claims against a CIS state.
• As a solicitor advocate, drafting statements of case and conducting cross examination of a witness in an $8m ICC arbitration involving breach of contract claims.

Alex is currently instructed on the independent investigation into unlawful discrimination at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, led by Mohinderpal Sethi KC. The investigation follows widespread media coverage of the club’s mishandling of its own investigation into allegations of discrimination and harassment brought by former player Azeem Rafiq (see here and here) .

Alex’s sports law experience also includes:

• Drafting the statement of case for an arbitration under the Procedural Rules of the National Safeguarding Panel.
• A High Court breach of contract claim brought by a football agent against a premier league player.
• An appeal to the EAT in proceedings against the UK governing body of an Olympic sport.

Alex has a First Class degree from the University of Cambridge.

He completed the GDL and LPC with a Distinction before qualifying as a Solicitor (England and Wales) in 2015 and a Solicitor Advocate in 2016.

He has lived and worked in Moscow and Paris, where he worked in the International Arbitration team at his former firm (2015 to 2017). He has a good working knowledge of French.