Frances Hobden was admitted to the Johannesburg Society of Advocates in December 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Laws summa cum laude from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Masters in Law from Cambridge University and a Masters of Arts in Criminal Justice with distinction from Kings College, London.
Prior to joining the Johannesburg Bar, Frances completed articles at Webber Wentzel Attorneys, and spent a year as a research clerk to Justice Sachs and Justice Khampepe at the Constitutional Court.
Frances has a varied practice with particular experience in public and administrative law, constitutional law and commercial litigation. She has appeared in the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Competition Appeal Court, the Labour Court, and the Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town High Courts. She has also represented clients in private commercial arbitrations and before internal tribunals and appeal boards.
During 2018 Frances was an evidence leader at the Commission of Inquiry into tax administration and governance at SARS, and she was appointed as a sessional lecturer at the law faculty of the University of Witwatersrand for a two-year period in 2019.