Tony Francois is an attorney in PLF’s Sacramento office, and has litigated cases around the country defending Americans’ property rights from land use and environmental restrictions. He is a member of the California State Bar and also practices before several federal trial and appellate courts and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Since graduating from college in 1987, Tony has continuously fought government, starting with other countries’ governments as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army. He served in the former West Germany at the close of the Cold War and personally removed a portion of the Berlin Wall in 1990. Close proximity to the Soviet and Warsaw Pact communist governments of the Cold War gave him a permanent desire to defend freedom against government tyranny.
The end of the Cold War and return to the States in the early 90s led him to see that many government abuses were taking hold in our country as well. Tony was also inspired to trade the military barracks for the courtroom by reading about abuses imposed by the IRS on American taxpayers, and well as the epic conflict between Wayne Hage and the U.S. Forest Service over grazing and water rights in the Western States.
Tony graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1996 with honors. After representing farmers, ranchers, and other landowners in private law practice and then for a decade as a policy advocate before the California legislature, Tony joined PLF in 2012. In his off hours, he enjoys martial arts, Giants baseball, reading history, and raising his family with his wife in Sacramento.
Why Separation of Powers is Superior to the Administrative State
Creighton Student Chapter
Creighton University School of Law2133 Cass St.
Omaha, NE 68138
Can Deregulation Ever Be Good for the Environment?
Denver Student Chapter
The Sturm College of Law of University of Denver2255 E Evans Ave
Denver, CO 80208
Clean Water Act Prosecutions-Dangers of Administrative State
The Fort Worth Club306 W. 7th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
The Trump Administration’s Proposed Redefinition of “Navigable Waters” – Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?
Seventh Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
The Mayflower Hotel1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
The Impossibility of Following Federal Environmental Regulations
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs1401 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Sturgeon v. Frost - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
SCOTUScast featuring Tony Francois
On March 26, 2019, the Supreme Court decided Sturgeon v. Frost, a case considering whether...
The Trump Administration’s Proposed Redefinition of “Navigable Waters” – Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?
Seventh Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
The seventh annual Executive Branch Review Conference took place on May 8, 2019, at the...
The Trump Administration’s Proposed Redefinition of “Navigable Waters” – Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?
Seventh Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
The seventh annual Executive Branch Review Conference took place on May 8, 2019, at the...
Deep Dive Episode 50 – Analyzing the New Proposed Rule Defining “Waters of the United States"
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
On February 14, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...
Executive Branch Review Preview: the Trump Administration’s Proposed Redefinition of “Navigable Waters” under the Clean Water Act
The theme of this year’s Executive Branch Review conference is: Regulatory Reform “Report Card.” One of the...