Paralegal who brought ‘hopeless’ claim against former firm ordered to pay £20k in costs

Costly mistake

A paralegal who sought £50,000 from her former firm at an employment tribunal has lost her case and been hit with a hefty costs order in the process.

Angel Mirembe claimed victimisation, racial discrimination, and unfair dismissal against both the firm, Claimlion, and the individual who signed her dismissal letter.

But the employment tribunal judge, Judge Young, found that Mirembe had “no merit” in seeking £50k. Further details regarding the claim weren’t made available.

Alongside working in the “legal arena” as a paralegal, Mirembe had a law degree and had completed SQE1. She dropped out of SQE2 and was pursuing the bar course when she brought the claim — after leaving Claimlion.

Although the decision notes that Mirembe had not taken an employment law module, Judge Young still found that, as a bar course student, she could have looked up the relevant law — even without legal representation. The judge added that Mirembe still had access to “legal advice” to assess the merits of her claim, which were “on any analysis hopeless.”

Judge Young noted that Mirembe had been offered £2,000 by Claimlion to settle, on a “commercial basis” given she had “no reasonable prospect” of success. When Mirembe countered with £22k, Claimlion warned her they would seek costs. As a paralegal, she had been earning under £1,500 a month.

Though Judge Young said there was no “evidence of an improper motive”, meaning that whilst the claim was not “vexatious”, it was still held Mirembe had acted unreasonably. Despite this, she was still ordered to pay nearly £20k in costs to Claimlion and almost £1,000 to the individual staff member.

At the merits hearing, Mirembe argued as a litigant-in-person, but the decision notes she did not attend the costs hearing and ignored attempts to contact her on the day. Claimlion’s solicitor said they would take a “sensible approach” to drafting the schedule of payment.