Paul Francis has been a Surveyor Member of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) for the past 20 years. Prior to joining what was then the Lands Tribunal in 1998, he had his own general practice and commercial property management business in Beaconsfield, Bucks. That was established following the break up and sale of Prudential Property Services estate agency chain for whom was National Survey and Valuation Director responsible for over 120 surveyors’ offices throughout England and Wales. His former firm, A C Frost & Co, of which he was a partner, was one of the original practices acquired by the Pru. He is also a past vice-chairman of the RICS Dispute Resolution Faculty.

Paul was one of the founding members of the team that set up and ran the highly successful College of Estate Management Certificate in Residential Estate Agency during the 1990s, and was an examiner in agency practice. He was also, until recently, an assessor for, and a member of, the sub-committee that instigated and then managed the RICS Expert Witness Registration Scheme (EWRS). He is a past Vice-Chairman of the RICS Dispute Residential Faculty [and his background with this, the EWRS and the Tribunal Service means he is well qualified to speak on the Upper Tribunal’s expectations from expert witnesses who appear before it].