Our Advocates

Professional Information:

Year of Call: 1985
Devil Masters: The Hon. Lord Drummond Young; H.E. Kerrigan QC
Qualifications: LL.B.; T.E.P.; Barrister (non-practising); Institute Registered Insurance Broker (non-practising).

Biography:

Derek Francis has a broad-ranging practice, specialising in trust and executry, breach of fiduciary duty and its consequences, conveyancing and property law, commercial leases and contract (including engineering and construction contract).

He has brought and defended numerous applications to the Lands Tribunal, particularly for variation of land obligations, and appeared in a number of such cases which have gone the distance and in disputed compensation cases. He has moved numerous public and several private trust variations and acted/advised alone or led in many others. He has acted in a wide spectrum of trust/fiduciary litigation; petitions for removal/appointment of trustees, accountings, multiplepoindings and petitions for directions. He has acted in professional negligence cases - particularly of the disappointed beneficiary sort.

He has advised and appeared in company matters arising out of unfairly prejudicial conduct, wrongful trading and misfeasance and in several pensions matters, including litigation relating to surpluses.

He has appeared in several high-profile Conveyancing/ land law cases e.g. American Express Europe Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (No.1) 1989 S.L.T. 266; American Express Europe Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (No.2) 1989 S.L.T. 650 and Bennett v Beneficial Bank 1995 S.L.T 1105. He also has experience of partnership litigation (e.g. Green v Moran (2002) S.C. 575.
 
Derek was for two years a part-time tutor in Taxation in the University of Edinburgh.

He is Chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Trusts Fiduciaries and Executries Bar Group ("TrustBar"). He is active in the Tax Law Group of the Faculty of Advocates. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a non-practising Barrister of Lincoln's Inn.

His personal interests and hobbies include French literature, cycling and hill walking.

Derek has been an occasional lecturer on judicial review and remedies for Law Society CPD courses.


Recent Events:

Derek has lectured for the Tax Law Group and TrustBar to members of the Solicitor, Accounting and Tax professions on the 2006 Finance Act changes, related planning issues, implications for settled life policies, lifetime settlements, administration and variation of A&M Trusts, Phizackerley.

Recent talks have included:

• 28th June 2005, for the Commercial Law Group; "Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Primary and Accessory Liability" (Royal Brunei v Tan & related Scots authority)
• 19th October 2006, for TrustBar; "Taxation of Trusts; the Finance Act Changes"
• 15th November 2006, to 80+ solicitors, STEP & CIOT members and FCA/CA's for the Tax Law Group; "Taxation of Trusts: the Finance Act Changes - Lifetime Settlements, Settled Life Policies"
• 23rd May 2007, to members of the Trusts, Tax and Executry departments of Maclays, Glasgow for TrustBar "Taxation of Trusts - the Finance Act 2006 Changes; Lifetime Settlements and Phizackerley"
• 13th September 2007 to Trusts, Executries and Tax practitioners (to Brechin Tindal Oatts, Wright Johnston & Mackenzie and Semple Fraser) for TrustBar "A&M Trusts & what to do with them; Phizackerley; Hastings-Bass [including Sieff v. Fox] & Rysaffe"
• 27th September 2007 to Glasgow Solicitors "Directors' Fiduciary Duties & their Breach" for TrustBar
• 30th January 2008 for TrustBar to Trusts, Executries and Tax practitioners "Taxation of Trusts: the Finance Act 2006 Changes Revisited: Revenue Guidance; A&M Trusts & what to do with them; Pre-22nd March 2006 IIPs - is the liferenter's taking a substitute IIP an occasion of charge? Settled Life Policies; Rysaffe - mitigation and multiple discretionary trusts; Hastings-Bass - undoing tax consequences of mis-exercised discretion, litigate to fix it when it's broke?"
  

Recent Cases:

• The Highland Scanner Appeal
• The Stirling Smith Trust
• Kilmarnock College, 7th November 2006, Lord Drummond Young
• Highland Council v HMRC Value Added Tax & Duties Tribunal
• Davidson v Trimco Coolair Ltd & Lovat's Catering Ltd (5th December 2005 Sh. Principal Dunlop QC, unreported; a modern application of the Ticket Cases)
• Balfour Beatty Ltd. v Gilcomston Ltd. & Ors. [2006] CSOH 81 (concerned with construction of the insuring provisions of the New Engineering Contract)