Deputy Head of Clerking
Practice Manager
Assistant Practice Manager
Francis is a high-regarded and very experienced silk who is “a fountain of knowledge” and “a pleasure to work with, he’s charming, unflappable under pressure, good with clients and someone who has the ear of the court.” A specialist chancery commercial barrister, Francis’ experience spans all commercial litigation, including banking and finance, company, insolvency and civil fraud as well as complex international trust disputes.
“Francis is renowned for possessing a formidable intellect and has a really good way of putting across complicated arguments in simple terms”. He is valued by clients for his comprehensive and detailed understanding of the commercial issues and realities of a case. He is very good at identifying the issues that really matter and finding the quickest and most effective path to the best result. He is acknowledged as an extremely effective advocate both in court and on paper. This has made him a popular choice for all types of business disputes and civil fraud claims involving complex issues of fact, law and forensic accountancy; “Francis is very thorough and gets the result required.”
A very significant proportion of his work is international in nature, and he has a sterling reputation for his international expertise. The international character of his practice involves not only appearing in jurisdictions outside England & Wales but also conducting proceedings in England & Wales alongside proceedings in other jurisdictions and providing expert evidence in foreign courts. He has acted and advised in many offshore jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, BVI, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the Isle of Man. He is called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean. He has also conducted proceedings in England & Wales alongside proceedings in the Russian Federation, Nigeria and Switzerland. His pre-eminence in multi-jurisdictional disputes involves him in overall strategy decisions, interim remedies including freezing injunctions, conflicts of law, asset tracing and recovery. He has also provided expert evidence of English law for proceedings in the United States and arbitration proceedings. In 2022, instructed by Togut & Segal LLP in New York, he gave expert evidence for the successful party and was cross examined in the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York in an aircraft mortgage case.
Notable cases include;
Francis is frequently involved as advocate on arbitrations administered by arbitral institutions including the ICC and contractual and ad hoc contractual agreements. Arbitration work is by its nature confidential, but the following details give an indication of the types of arbitration in which he is involved:
The “very professional” Francis is described as “very strong and very easy to work with from a client perspective’. His work is mostly contentious but does include non-contentious advisory work. Contentious work has included disputes over structured products, contracts for differences, spread bets, options and other derivatives relating to financial, foreign exchange and sporting markets. He also has very considerable experience of work involving capital markets and derivative products.
Notable matters include the following:
Francis has very broad experience relating to the tracing and recovery of assets fraudulently obtained. He has acted for liquidators and individuals seeking to recover assets from directors in a number of different contexts, generally involving fraud. He also acts for defendants and has successfully defended claims of fraud made against clients both on the merits and on the basis of challenges to the court’s jurisdiction.
For example:
“An excellent, inclusive team leader, who is thoughtful and highly strategic” Francis has extensive commercial litigation experience domestically and internationally covering a wide range of practice areas including:
His notable cases include:
Francis is recommended for company disputes in Legal 500 clients praise him as a “statesman of the company Bar who commands respect from judges.”’ He is instructed on high profile disputes relating to shareholder disputes and share valuations form a major part of his practice. He also has considerable experience of hedge fund related company work.
Francis has in addition been involved in company proceedings in Cyprus and the Channel Islands and a complex restructuring of the assets of various international companies in order to permit distribution through a trust structure in the Cayman Islands.
His involvement in company disputes include:
Francis’s practice in relation to hedge funds and structured investment vehicles ensured his involvement in major disputes when the current global financial crisis first arose in 2007 and 2008. This means that he has advised on and been involved in litigation relating to a range of issues which have affected funds and their managers as the crisis has developed and worsened.
In 2007 he was advising funds in relation to the power to manage redemptions generally either consensually by agreed lock-ups and variation of class rights or by suspending redemptions or imposing gates. The objective was to use the articles of association to ensure that a balance was struck between redeeming and non- redeeming investors. This involved advising on restructuring and litigation in the Grand Court in Cayman on the imposition of gates.
After the crisis in 2007 and 2008, Francis became involved in litigation in Cayman relating to the liquidation of Bear Stearns funds and conflicts of interest in service providers to funds.
From 2008 onwards, Francis has been involved in advising funds on questions relating to powers of suspension/gating of redemption, orderly wind-downs and powers to redeem compulsorily during suspension. He has also been involved in litigation relating to the scope of the Court’s power to wind up funds on the just and equitable basis – e.g. Camulos Partners Offshore Ltd (Court of Appeal Cayman 2010) in which he successfully appealed an order and got a winding up petition struck out. The next stage in hedge fund liquidation involved issues of priorities in liquidation between creditor/shareholders and shareholders who had not achieved creditor status because they had not completed the redemption process or had not sought to redeem at all. This culminated in the lengthy Herald litigation in Cayman and the Privy Council which is dealt with in more detail above.
Other cases he has dealt with include:
Praised in Legal 500 for his “excellent advice”, Francis has a long-established insolvency practice.
Francis acted in the long-running Herald litigation in Cayman and the Privy Council. Francis acted for the Additional Liquidators of Herald Fund SPC which was one of the largest Madoff feeder funds. The case raised particular issues relating to the priority of redeemers in a fund investing in a Ponzi scheme. It also raised issues relating to the liquidator’s power to rectify the share register where a fund’s NAV has been fraudulently misstated. This was a power which had not previously been considered by the Cayman Islands courts. Francis was involved in this litigation which went to the Privy Council in relation to redeemers for many years until it concluded in 2018.
Other notable cases include:
Francis has been called to the bar of the Eastern Caribbean. He has also been admitted to appear in Court in Cayman, the BVI, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. Clients comment “Francis is a user-friendly silk. He is well-versed in the law and able to relate to clients and instructing lawyers very easily. He is adept at explaining complex legal points in layman’s terms. His advocacy is well-prepared, calm and persuasive.” (Legal 500: The English Bar Offshore).
He has appeared in the courts of the BVI (Court of Appeal), Bermuda (Supreme Court and Court of Appeal), the Bahamas (High Court) as well as in the Privy Council.
Bermuda
BVI
Bahamas
Cayman Islands
Gibraltar
Bermuda
Francis has done a considerable amount of work for coal and gypsum mining companies and/or land subject to the grant of mineral rights. Recent cases have involved detailed consideration of mining leases and working rights agreements.
His cases include:
Francis is a very experienced chancery practitioner. Recommended by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for his traditional chancery practice, his work is largely international in nature.
A large proportion of Francis’ trust work is international and he has experience acting for Cayman, Bahamian and Bermudan trusts. His work as a writer on trusts has been cited by the Chief Justice in the Bermuda Supreme Court – see In the Matter of the C Trust – 2019: No. 053 at [23] to [27].
Francis’ chancery experience includes:
Company & Partnership
Chambers & Partners
‘Francis is a smooth and calm operator.’ ‘An excellent, inclusive team leader, who is thoughtful and highly strategic.’ (2025)
‘A pleasure to work with, he’s charming, unflappable under pressure, and someone who has the ear of the court.” “A brilliant lawyer.’ (2023)
‘A shrewd operator who is underestimated by the opposition at their peril.’(2022)
‘His ability to forensically analyse complicated matters and to get to the core of the issue is just outstanding. He’s a great advocate who is highly responsive.’ (2021)
Legal 500
‘A statesman of the company Bar who commands respect from judges.’ (2025)
‘Great and clear advocate. Very commercial. Extraordinary mind and very focused.’ (2023)
‘Cool under pressure, exceedingly pleasant to deal with regardless of the demands of the case, thoughtful and measured in his advocacy and highly responsive.’ (2022)
‘His advocacy is superb and his drafting and insight into the intricacies of a case is exceptional.’ (2021)
Chancery: Commercial
Chambers & Partners
‘A pleasure to work with. Francis is charming, unflappable under pressure, and someone who has the ear of the court. He is also very good with clients.’(2025, 2023)
‘Absolutely divine. He is a delight to work with as he is so incredibly user-friendly.’(2022 – UK and Global)
‘His ability to forensically analyse complicated matters and to get to the core of the issue is just outstanding. He is an excellent advocate and very responsive.’ (2021 – UK and Global)
Chancery: Traditional
Chambers & Partners
‘Francis is very thorough and gets the result required.’ ‘Francis is bright, dedicated and versatile, and has a brilliant legal mind. Very easy to work with and very committed to his clients, he provides sophisticated advice on complex points.’ (2025)
‘Francis is great to work with and has a nice calm approach.‘ (2023)
‘Francis is great to work with and has a nice, calm approach.’ ‘Extremely focused, commercial and intelligent.’(2022)
‘His legal work is fantastic and he has this very light touch with clients.’ ‘He’s really nice to work with, he’s charming and he has a nice way about him.‘(2022)
‘Tremendously careful and elegant in court.’ (2021)
Offshore
Chambers & Partners
‘Francis is renowned for possessing a formidable intellect and has a really good way of putting across complicated arguments in simple terms.’ (2025)
‘He’s good on the technical side and he’s someone you like to have as part of your team.’ ‘He is brilliant. He’s very strategic, very calm with excitable clients, measured and a team player.’ (2022 – UK and Global)
‘Insightful, user-friendly and very astute.’ ‘Solid and unflappable.’ (2021 – UK and Global)
Legal 500
‘Francis is a user-friendly silk. He is well-versed in the law and able to relate to clients and instructing lawyers very easily. He is adept at explaining complex legal points in layman’s terms. His advocacy is well-prepared, calm and persuasive.’ (2025, 2024)
‘Francis has a wonderful demeanour and is easy to work with. He is also responsive and a great leader to have on your matters. He is a team player and the clients all like his style and approach.’ (2023)
‘Francis Tregear is well regarded in the traditional chancery space and is a name in the offshore market.’ ‘He is very strong and great to work with.’ (2023)
‘A great intellect and he brings a sense of calm, control and careful thought.’ (2022)
‘He commands respect with his experience and is very impressive in court.’ (2021)
Insolvency
Legal 500
Leading silk. (2025)
‘Very sharp brain, can translate complex issues and theories into easily understandable and digestible for the client. Excellent rapport with judges who respect his straightforward approach.’ (2023)
‘Cool under pressure and his advice and strategy for matters is sound.’ (2022)
‘Excellent value and very user friendly.’ (2021)
Professional Negligence
Legal 500
‘He is experienced in professional negligence disputes.’ (2021)
Banking & Finance
Legal 500
‘Very professional.’ (2025)
‘Very sharp brain, can translate complex issues and theories into easily understandable and digestible for the client. Excellent rapport with judges who respect his straightforward approach.’ (2023)
‘A consummate gentleman; cool under pressure, exceedingly pleasant to deal with regardless of the demands of the case, thoughtful and measured in his advocacy and highly responsive.’ (2022)
‘Always prepared and available, and very impressive ability to deal with and solve complex issues.’ (2021)
Commercial Litigation
Legal 500
‘His advocacy and pleading drafting skills are exceptional.’ (2025)
‘Francis is calm and measured, independent-minded and thoughtful. As an advocate (both orally and in writing), his work is very poised and attractively presented. He has real intellectual fire-power.’ (2023)
‘A consummate gentleman, cool under pressure and exceedingly pleasant to deal with regardless of the demands of the case. Francis is thoughtful and measured in his advocacy and highly responsive.’ (2022)
‘A pleasure to deal with and an excellent advocate.’ (2021)
Private Client: Trusts and Probate
Legal 500
Leading silk. (2025)
‘Francis is an excellent advocate and is highly persuasive in court. His written work is excellent, and his legal opinions carry real weight when a trust application requires such an opinion. He is a very good leader of a team for instructing lawyers, junior counsel and the client.’ (2023)
‘For a senior silk Francis is easy to deal with and is down to earth. His advice and strategy for matters is sound.’ (2022)
‘He commands respect with his experience and was very impressive in court.’ (2021)
Fraud: Civil
Legal 500
Leading silk. (2025)
‘Very user friendly and easy to work with. Excellent practitioner.’ (2023)
‘Clients love him – good common sense while alive to their priorities.’ (2022)
‘Very focused on the strategy, has a clear and reasonable way to explain the choices, and is always available.’ (2021)
‘A very smart man and a very effective advocate who is good at dealing with difficult questions’. ‘Extremely hard-working, user-friendly and responsive. He gets to grip with extremely complicated contractual issues and statutory matters of interpretation in a practical and incisive manner.’
