Francesca Lopez

What Clients and Directories Say

“I could not have been more pleased with the level of support and guidance given to me by Francesca. She has been amazing – and a really rare combination of professional and friendly but also patient and clear in her advice and guidance.”
(Global HR Business Partner for a British Newspaper)

“Your advice has been excellent – and also your support.”
(Senior Executive, PR & Strategy)

“I very much appreciate all the help you gave in what was a stressful situation and one that could have ended very differently.”
(Senior Executive, Financial Services)

“Incredibly incisive with a clear understanding of the case and what mattered most.”
(Counsel)

“It was Francesca’s tactical awareness which most impressed me. It is one thing to read a case, learn the facts and to understand the law, but tactics requires an additional level of insight, understanding and to put them into effect, communication skills.”
(Counsel)

“Francesca displayed a keen insight into technical details of the case.”
(Counsel)

“She exerted an air of calmness and control.”
(Counsel)

Recent Cases

• Representing professional services firms in unfair dismissal and whistleblowing claims and advising on harassment and blackmail allegations.
• Advising senior executives employed by a national newspaper and a city lobby group, respectively, in connection with their termination and potential sex discrimination claims.
• Advising a corporate client in connection with allegations of employee fraud and internal investigations.
• Advising a leading fashion brand in relation to multiple redundancies, performance management issues and employee grievances.
• Representing a public sector body and a leading accountancy firm, respectively, in connection with complex disability discrimination claims.
• Advising a company director in connection with disciplinary action being taken against him, and his grievances against his employer.
• Advising well-known firms in respect of flexible working, reasonable adjustments, bonus and commission schemes, restrictive covenants, and the drafting of handbooks, employment contracts and service agreements.

Publications & Press Highlights

Articles

• How can organisations best support grieving staff? – Published in People Management, January 2025
• Keeping the Christmas party legal – Published in People Management, November 2024
• How to read gender pay gap data for finance firms, and what to do about it – Published in E-financialcareers, March 2018
• Drug Testing in the Workplace: the Difficulties for Employers – Published in HR Magazine, October 2014
• Managing difficult employees: how do you solve a problem like Mario? – Published in HR Magazine, September 2014
• Legal HR tips: Managing compassionate leave – Published in HR Magazine, July 2014
• Partnership members blowing the whistle gain employment protection, PM Daily
• Employers’ concerns over state-run occupational health service, People Management

Quoted

• Quoted in the Daily Mail and This is Money on the new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment –  December 2024
• Weekly Notes: legal news – Quoted in ICLR, November 2024
• Labour’s Bill on employment rights strikes positive notes with lawyers – Quoted in New Law Journal, October 2024
• Top Takeaways From The Employment Rights Bill – Quoted in Law360, October 2024

Professional Societies & Memberships

• Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
• The Law Society
• Discrimination Law Association (DLA)
• Industrial Law Society (ILS