Fran jointly leads Hamilton Locke Private, the firm’s dedicated private client practice.
Fran is a trusted advisor to privately owned businesses, families, high net worth (HNW) and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals and family offices. She has extensive experience across complex succession and estate planning, business structuring and transition arrangements, asset protection, financial agreements, intergenerational wealth transfers, and commercial, business and rural property transactions.
Fran also advises clients on all aspects of estate administration across Australia, and acts in a broad range of estate litigation matters involving family provision, proprietary estoppel, undue influence, testamentary capacity, and executor, trustee and power of attorney disputes.
Fran is widely regarded for her technically excellent, value-driven, commercial and pragmatic approach, and her ability to both form a deep understanding of her clients’ objectives, and to devise and implement creative and bespoke solutions that safeguard her clients’ businesses and legacies. She is highly adept at managing the array of technical, commercial and personal dynamics that arise in HNW and UHNW business estate planning, succession and litigation matters.
Fran has a specialty industry focus in agribusiness, having grown up and been involved in the agribusiness sector for her entire life. Originally from Central Queensland, Fran with her husband now owns and runs a beef cattle enterprise in the Maranoa region, where she takes an active involvement in the day-to-day operations of the business and enjoys the reward of being a grazier, like many of her agribusiness clients.
This lifelong understanding and experience “on the land” enables Fran to offer a unique point of difference to her clients, and to forge a genuine partnership with them in achieving their long-term goals. She is keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities facing her clients in their business and personal estate planning, and her extensive legal knowledge and experience enables her to quickly identify strategies and outcomes that are proactive, commercial and cost-effective.
Fran is a highly sought after speaker at industry events. She is a leader in the agribusiness and legal community, and acts as a mentor to women and young lawyers in the legal profession.
