FRANCIS co-founded FMS in 1998 with the goal of creating a law firm dedicated exclusively to consumer rights litigation. Since then, he and the firm have consistently achieved ground-breaking results and cutting-edge legal rulings. He was trial and appellate counsel in Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, a case that obtained a record $60 million dollar verdict for a case brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In 2009, Jim argued the seminal FCRA case of Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has been appointed to serve as class counsel by federal courts all over the country in over 70 cases. In 2004, Jim was the youngest lawyer to be ranked a Top 100 Super Lawyer in Pennsylvania in Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine. He has been ranked a Top 100 Superlawyer for Pennsylvania and Philadelphia many times since, including in 2024. In 2014, Jim was selected as one of a small group of national plaintiffs’ lawyers to be profiled in Law 360’s Titans of the Plaintiff’s Bar series. In the same year, he was awarded the Equal Justice Award by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. In 2023, Jim was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. Jim regularly lectures for continuing legal education programs, law schools and community groups throughout the country, and has been a regular speaker for the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) for over 20 years. He has appeared on various news programs including the Today Show and PBS NewsHour to discuss consumer-related issues. He was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer’s biographical “Question & Answer” segment in February of 2009. Prior to forming FMS and after graduating from law school, Jim was an associate with Kolsby, Gordon, Robin, Shore & Rothweiler in Philadelphia.