Frances Bailey

Partner

photo for Frances Bailey

What can I do for you

Frances is a specialist family lawyer in our top ranked family team. She advises clients from all around the UK and overseas on the practical, legal and financial issues arising out of relationship breakdown. She has particular experience in advising business owners, both in negotiating financial settlements on separation/divorce, but also in protecting their businesses at the outset of relationships. 

What do others say

"She is exceptional. She's a really client-friendly, bright and unflappable lawyer. She has an amazing legal mind and is extremely calm under pressure." 

"Frances is commercial, sympathetic and pragmatic.  She is the complete package."  (Chambers and Partners 2024

"Frances is fast, efficient and clear. I could not have asked for more." 

"Extremely bright and hardworking. This is combined with excellent people skills. She carries out good and careful analysis of the law, the facts and the strategy in a case and is able to explain that to her clients." (Legal 500 2024

Supporting your ambitions

Frances is a long-standing member of Resolution (sitting on both the local Resolution committee and the national Litigants in Person Working Party) and a trained collaborative lawyer. Her training enables her to offer a holistic and solution focused approach to family law issues, working with clients to achieve a settlement that meets their, and their families', specific needs.  
 
Frances combines technical expertise with both a commercial approach to family law issues and a full understanding of the wider, emotional, impact of relationship breakdown. She has particular expertise in more esoteric cases including acting for professional trustees within divorce proceedings and on wealth protection / estate planning more generally. 

What else should you know?

Frances is particularly interested in the technical and academic aspects of family law and writes regularly for various professional publications. Along with Nick Stone, she co-authored Drawing the Lines: A Guide to Family Agreements.   

Outside of work, Frances is a keen Norwich City fan, occasional runner and a (very) amateur musician. She also volunteers for Norfolk Community Law Service. 

MDN

What our clients say about us

“I think Mills & Reeve are a wonderful firm. The support they have provided to us in a really difficult area has been brilliant, collaborative and commercially minded. The team were absolutely wonderful and a joy to work with. Amazing advice and support and a real collaborative effort with us. I can't thank them enough for getting us through some really tough times and doing so with an amazing can-do attitude.”

“They are friendly, fast, always available and always on top of the game. I tend to judge my legal team against the other side's legal team and never doubt Mills & Reeve is the better of the two.”

“All interactions have been very clear. Responses to questions have always been very swift and unambiguous. Our company, and my family, have used various services in Mills & Reeve with the same level of satisfaction.”

“I value the fact that Mills & Reeve are recognised as a good place to work in the UK Best Companies survey. This aligns with the values of our business and means that Mills & Reeve can share what is required to achieve this status with our business.”