Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Real estate litigation and dispute resolution, Real estate development

Senior Associate, London

Frances is a senior associate in our Real Estate Dispute Resolution team.Frances qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and acquired her higher rights or audience as a Solicitor Advocate in 2008. Frances is also a member of the Property Litigation Association.

Recognised as a key lawyer in the Legal 500, Frances' knowledge spans the full range of real estate disputes, from landlord and tenant issues to complex contractual disputes, professional negligence, insolvency and disputes arising from fraud. Her considerable practice also encompasses specialist business rates disputes and she regularly advises on business rates mitigation schemes.

Whilst predominantly acting for landlord clients, Frances has also acted for a significant number of high-profile tenants in relation to leases of substantial value, including proposed redevelopment, lease expiry and the settlement of liabilities for dilapidations.

As well as high profile litigation, Frances has a very successful track record at mediation and in settling cases for her clients without the cost and uncertainty of trial. She also provides strategic advice to transactional real estate clients on the drafting of agreements to avoid disputes or to place her clients in the best possible position were a dispute to arise.

Frances works extremely closely with the transactional team and their clients throughout many transactions, advising on a diverse and complex range of matters such as the easements necessary for the operation of multi-million pound infrastructure projects, the ability to exercise an option to purchase freehold of land where the grantor had been dissolved and the drafting and operation of Covid-19 rent cesser clauses.

Frances is a regular speaker and writer on a full range of specialist real estate litigation topics, including the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, insolvency and competition in the real estate sector.