Biography
Francesca is an associate in the International Arbitration group in London and a Solicitor-Advocate of England and Wales. With White & Case since 2019, she also spent over three years practising as an associate in the International Arbitration group in Paris.
Francesca specialises in international commercial and investment treaty arbitration. She has represented clients as counsel in arbitrations conducted under most major procedural rules and on an ad hoc basis, governed by various substantive laws and seated in a range of jurisdictions. She has experience of arbitrations relating to a variety of sectors and has advised on enforcement and set-aside proceedings before national courts.
Francesca has also been admitted as a solicitor in Ireland and is a registered practitioner of the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Experience
- Representing the subsidiary of a global investment company based in the Middle East in proceedings before the courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre to set aside an arbitral award under an English law-governed contract;
- Representing a Middle Eastern technology company in ICC arbitrations concerning the sale of a business and licensing of intellectual property, including under a contract governed by English law;
- Representing a FTSE 250-listed global professional services business in an accounting expert determination regarding a disputed earn-out payment in connection with the acquisition of a fund administration services provider;
- Representing a leading European buyer of gas in an ad hoc arbitration relating to supply disruptions under a long-term contract following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022;
- Representing an investor in the fuel distribution industry in an UNCITRAL arbitration against a Caribbean State under a bilateral investment treaty;
- Representing Iraq Telecom in an ICC arbitration against Korek Telecom and others under an English law-governed shareholders' agreement, involving direct and derivative claims for conspiracy and breach of contract and resulting in a favourable award of USD 1.65 billion;
- Advising a Scandinavian hydroelectric power producer in relation to price revision and other claims under long-term supply contracts;
- Representing an African State in ICC arbitrations relating to a power plant project with contracts governed by a common law system;
- Representing a leading European buyer of gas in an ad hoc arbitration relating to the price of gas under a long-term supply contract;
- Representing an Asian private equity fund in a SIAC arbitration regarding a disputed share valuation under a contract governed by English law;
- Representing an investor in the coal mining industry in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Serbia under a bilateral investment treaty;
- Representing an oil and gas company in an expert determination and LCIA arbitrations concerning a shareholder dispute in the Middle East under contracts governed by English law.