- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Civil Fraud
- Clinical Negligence & Healthcare
- Commercial, Chancery & Property
- Court of Protection
- Credit Hire
- Crime
- Family Law
- Financial Crime
- Inquests & Inquiries
- Personal Injury
- Police Law
- Professional Negligence
- Public Sector & Human Rights
- Regulatory & Disciplinary
- Travel & Cross Border Claims
Francesca Kolar
Call: 2018
Francesca has a thriving and successful common law practice across Chambers core areas: Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Inquests, Crime and Family.
Francesca has been ranked in the Legal 500 as a Rising Star in Crime in their 2024 and 2025 publications. Francesca is noted in the Legal 500 to have a calm but punchy style, who adapts deftly to different subjects and audiences.
Francesca’s common law practice enables her to bring a unique breadth and depth of knowledge to her cases and often means she can advise and represent lay and professional clients across a range of different Courts and Tribunals.
Prior to coming to the Bar Francesca spent two years, alongside her studies, teaching debating to students in inner-London secondary and primary schools, for the social mobility charity Debate Mate.
Francesca is very engaged with Lincoln’s Inn and is a mentor to future pupil barristers on the Inn’s highly sought after Pupillage Foundation Scheme. Francesca finds it extremely rewarding to be able to give back to the Inn that awarded her several Scholarships, enabling her to practice at the Bar.
Francesca has a busy personal injury practice, advising and representing both Claimants and Defendants in CCMC’s and multi-day trials on the multi-track, intermediate and fast-track.
Francesca is regularly instructed to advise on liability and quantum, and to draft particulars of claim, schedules of loss, defences and counter-schedules across the broad spectrum of personal injury claims including: Occupiers Liability Act; Highways Act; Road Traffic Act; Employers’ liability; Defective Premises; Vicarious liability; and claims against public authorities and private companies.
Francesca’s common law practice and in particular her criminal advocacy experience, means that she is highly effective at cross-examining experts and lay witnesses during trial.
Francesca’s Inquest practice also extends to Inquests resulting from fatal accidents at work. Francesca often represents bereaved families or Defendant insurers, particularly when there is likely to be an on-going civil personal injury claim.
Francesca has an established clinical negligence practice and has successfully represented both claimants and defendants. Francesca is often instructed at an early stage of the case to advise on liability, draft letters of claim and to give a steer on the direction of travel of a claim.
Francesca’s recent cases involve a late diagnosis of colorectal cancer, a missed opportunity to diagnose a severe growth restriction in a foetus which lead to intrapartum foetal death, and fatal injuries following a bladder cystectomy.
Francesca also regularly represents claimants, bereaved families and other Interested Persons at Inquest hearings in the Coroner’s Court. Francesca’s common law practice means that she has the breadth and depth of experience to advise and represent clients before a multitude of tribunals.
Francesca is regularly instructed by police forces across the country to provide representation and advice on technical issues in a range of quasi-criminal applications including:
• Account freezing orders; cash and account forfeiture applications under POCA
• Sexual risk orders
• Closure orders
• PII applications
• Domestic violence protection orders, Stalking Protection Orders
• Civil injunctions – ASBIs, Gang Injunctions and subsequent committal proceedings.
As a result, Francesca is also well placed to advise and represent Respondents to such applications.
In addition to the above, Francesca is also frequently instructed by Defendant police forces in civil actions against the police, or where officers have suffered injuries in the workplace.
As part of Francesca’s Inquest work, she often represents police forces who are made Interested Persons, including Art. 2 inquests where there has been a death in custody. Francesca’s successful criminal practice means she is adept at navigating jury inquests in the Coroner’s Court.
Francesca also accepts instructions in Misconduct hearings.
| Francesca regularly acts for local authorities, parents and children’s guardians in public law family proceedings, involving issues of neglect, substance misuse, psychiatric illness, fabricated and/or induced illnesses and non-accidental injury.
Francesca has significant experience in conducting multi-day Final Hearings and Fact-Finding hearings and is adept at cross-examining medical and social work experts. Francesca has a very pragmatic and personable approach and is highly effective in ensuring cases run smoothly. She is often instructed in Interim Care Orders, Emergency Protection Orders, at Issues Resolution Hearings and Case Management Hearings. Francesca also represents parents in private family law and has achieved satisfying results for lay and professional clients, leading to repeat instructions from applications for Child Arrangement, Prohibited Steps, Specific Issue, Non-Molestation and Occupation Orders. |
Francesca has an impressive criminal practice beyond her call. Francesca has been ranked as a Rising Star in the Legal 500’s 2024 and 2025 publications.
Francesca is a CPS Grade 3 Prosecutor and is on the Serious Fraud Office Panel at Level B.
Francesca predominantly prosecutes and is often led in complex and high-value fraud and drug trafficking cases in the Crown Court. Notable cases include:
R v D & Ors (2024): Complex HMRC and CPS led prosecution, concerning three defendants who were convicted in November 2024 following a 10-week trial of cheating the public revenue, furnishing false information and money laundering. D1 submitted 99 fraudulent Gift Aid claims to HMRC between 7th December 2013 and 20th August 2018, in respect of 10 evangelical Christian Churches based in South and East London. HMRC approved 96 of the fraudulent Gift Aid claims, which were then paid to the Defendants and directly to the Charities. The value of the fraud was approximately £1.5 million.
R v A & Ors (2023): A multi-handed conspiracy to import over 1500 kilos of cocaine and other class A drugs into the UK from Columbia via the Netherlands across a 6-month period. The drugs had been hidden inside pallets of bananas in a shipping container. The street value was approximately £118 million. Mr A used the guise of his removal business vehicles to collect and transfer the illicit drugs from Europe into the UK to other Organised Crime Groups for onward distribution.
Francesca also has a niche in protest law and has successfully prosecuted protestors from Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Palestine Action in cases which have received significant media attention.
R v P & H (2024): Two JSO activists entered The National Gallery and threw two tins of tomato soup at the famous painting ‘Sunflowers’ by Vincent Van Gogh. Whilst the priceless painting was not damaged, the 17th century Italian frame, which was a piece of art in itself, suffered permanent damaged. The defendants were convicted in July 2024, following complex legal argument about the availability of certain defences, which ultimately were not left to the jury to consider in their deliberations.
Francesca has a flourishing defence practice and has achieved very satisfying results for clients, who commend her for her thorough preparation, attention to detail and guiding through the stressful process of Crown Court trials. Francesca has a particular niche in representing defendants in fraud cases arising out of private trading standards prosecutions.
Francesca is also adept at dealing with post-conviction confiscation and POCA proceedings, which compliments her POCA/forfeiture practice for various police forces.
Endorsements
Regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB)
Regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate.
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Regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB)
Regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and holds a current practising certificate.
View my privacy policy.
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Deka Chambers: 5 Norwich Street, London EC4A 1DR
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