Francis is a member of the Commercial Litigation department. He represents clients in complex matters in court and in Congress.
Francis regularly serves as the principal drafter of critical motions and appellate briefs. He has filed numerous briefs before the Supreme Court, as well as many federal and state courts of appeals. His work has involved a broad array of subjects including contracts, securities, trusts, criminal prosecutions, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Presidential Records Act, and federal officer removal and immunity.
Prior to joining the firm, Francis served as a law clerk to the Honorable David J. Porter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and to the Honorable Elizabeth L. Branch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also interned at the U.S. Department of Justice with the Environmental Torts Section, Civil Appellate Staff, and Office of Legal Policy.
Experience
- Representing one of the world’s largest charitable trusts in a breach of trust action.
- Representing a group of securitized trusts in an action brought by a federal regulatory agency.
- Representing a staffing registry in a worker classification dispute with a federal regulatory agency under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Providing strategic counseling to a commercial space launch provider.
- Successfully represented one of the country’s largest accounting firms in a complex class action securities fraud case.
- Represented a criminal defendant pro bono before the Supreme Court of the United States in a case involving the Confrontation Clause.
- Represented a natural resources developer before the Supreme Court of the United States relating to the tribal court exhaustion doctrine.
- Not Admitted in the District of Columbia
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
- Hon. Elizabeth L. Branch, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, 2020-2021
- Hon. David J. Porter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, 2019-2020
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Georgetown University Law CenterJD
cum laude, Managing Editor of Articles, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
2019 -
Christendom CollegeBAPolitical Science & Economics
cum laude
2011
- Author, Preparing for an Impending Government Shutdown: Legal Hurdles for Federal Contractors, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 28, 2023
- Author, U.S. Supreme Court: Bankruptcy Code Abrogates Tribal Sovereign Immunity, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 26, 2023
- Author, Department of Labor Proposes Rule Granting Government Contractor Employees Right of First Refusal, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, August 18, 2022