Francesca Richmond

Francesca advises on engagement with regulators, defense of investigations across jurisdictions into potentially infringing activity and litigation in respect of regulatory decision-making. She is highly regarded for her substantive knowledge and competence in ethics, governance and human rights issues as well as her experience in consumer, competition and data privacy law. She is noted by Legal 500 for competition, EU law, human rights and judicial review matters, recommended as a Future Leader by 2018 Who’s Who and shortlisted for Compliance Lawyer of the Year at the forthcoming 2019 Women in Compliance awards.

• Coordinating the regulatory defense of data privacy, consumer and competition investigations outside the US for a global social media platform in relation to alleged misuse of 86 million users data across 36 jurisdictions.
• Advising Facebook on the appeal of sanctions imposed by the UK Information Commissioner on grounds of fairness and interpretation of law that likely will prove decisive for social media service provision globally.
• Advising a global social media platform on its responsibility for and approach to content hosted by the platform, including its policy on handling hate speech or activity that potentially may influence political process and approach to contemplated changes to that policy.
• Advising a global bank on a number of regulatory investigations including before the European Commission and UK Competition and Market Authority; advising on the procedural fairness aspects of engagement, right to be heard and potential avenues for challenge to administrative handling of those cases.
• Advising clients across sectors on corporate social responsibility, ethics and human rights considerations in respect of compliance policy, including monitoring and auditing effective implementation of policy and recommending remediation to address alleged regulatory infringements following engagement with regulators, including European Commission.
• Advising clients on the application of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to their group companies and the production of modern slavery annual statements covering their business and supply chains.
• Litigating strategic challenges to legislation and regulatory decisions before the UK Supreme Court, European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights.
• Advised BBC Trust on exercise of its competition and regulatory functions between 2007 and 2018, including launches of Freesat and defending challenges to editorial decisions.
• Advising a multinational technology company on potential legal challenge to regulatory determinations made by HMRC.
• Acted for a lottery operator on judicial review of the lawfulness of local lottery operations.
• Acted for a trade association for gambling operators on the judicial review of aspects of the licensing regime for betting terminals.
• Advised an international cosmetics company on the lawfulness of restrictions imposed on its advertising by the ASA and potential public and EU law challenges to that decision.
• Advised a global drinks manufacturer on potential public and EU law challenges to alteration to the laws on sale of alcoholic beverages.
• Advised a major food manufacturer on potential public and EU law challenges to restrictions of advertising of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar.

• Law Society of England and Wales
• Law Society of Ireland
• Administrative Law Bar Association

Francesca has assisted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as intervener before the Supreme Court, in one case regarding the application of the internal flight alternative in international refugee law and another on whether, rather than seeking refuge, individuals should be obliged to feign loyalty to a political regime in order to avoid persecutory ill-treatment. Francesca researched and helped to draft an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Council for Parent Attorneys and Advocates regarding the protections afforded to students suffering from disabilities while seconded to Baker McKenzie in Chicago.

• Chicago
• Sydney