Bullying / Harassment lawsuits

[Mistermind]

A friend of mine wants to launch a bullying/harassment lawsuit against her employer a high street bank. She has consulted 3 lawyers so far, paying £190 per hour, but having no legal training herself does not know which lawyer to trust.

She has read up some case law precedents showing successful cases with 6-figure payouts. However she does not know if one successful case if trumpeted to the winds, but 20 failed lawsuits are kept quiet. Grateful if anyone can shed light on two questions:

(1) Is there a proven procedure to seek out the success/failure rate of law firms handling bullying/harassment cases? Something like performance tables for schools and hospitals?

(2) Is there any website or law book sources to get a panoramic view of such lawsuite over all, not just the star cases? I.e. how many such cases were heard by the Employment Tribunal last year? How many successes? What was the average, the highest and lowest compensation payouts?

Thanks.

[Mistermind]

Is there another chat room (URL?) more specialised than this one that would be the best place to ask this question? Perhaps a Forum where lawyers thnk out loud and swap ideas?

[bwglaw]

If she is an employee bringing a claim she can contact CAB etc. Some lawyers will take on some cases on a commission basis. I specialise in discrimination law and largely take on commission-based claims.

Previous cases of bullying/harassment will only give a very rough guideline, especially in terms of compensation. To calculate compensation numeroyus factors have to be taken into account such as the employee's current/previous salary, length of service, severity of claim. Some Employment Tribunals set a seperate hearing to determine compensation.

A large number of claims settle before a hearing especially if it is a strong claim.

I cannot see why a lawyer cannot be trusted. It is not possible to find out the success rate of each law firm because this is confidential information. In any event, no lawyer can guarantee the outcome but can give his or her opinion based on previous experience and case law.

If your friend would like us to consider the claim on a commission-base only agreement then she can contact us at the email address below. Unfortunately we would not be able to discuss the case with you direct

Jonathan

[www.limeone.com]

In the last 2 years we have represented clients against 4 of the leading name banks and had successful outcomes on both bullying claims and sexual discrimination. We also specialise in litigation over stress at work claims. We offer a free initial advice and then work on a fixed fee basis, we also are panel members for some of the home insurance legal services expenses cover.


T 0161 776 4533

[Mistermind]

All postings appreciated. My friend is south of London. As she missed the one-year deadline for Employment Tribunal and Constructive Dismissal lawsuit, looks like she will have to rely on the anti-stalker law used by the Deutsche Bank girl who won £600K damages.

[BowBiz]

Is it the money your friend is after then? I cannot see how money is going to help your friend. I personally would just find another job and tell the bank to stick it. Everyone seems to be compo made these days. If I was being bullied, the last thing on my mind would be how much money I could get.

Jayne

[Dr Lunnon]

hi, i take it that she has been through all the internal process that lawyers cant help with, this becomes a diffrent isue if she has been forced to leave due to thier conduct.
a lawyer can only be as good as the case they present, but there are experts in this field out there. remember you above all need to be able to comunicate with this person,trust them, remember you can ask questions .
don't make any snap decisions but remember cases like this need to be started while it is still fresh in the mind,hopefuly your friend has kept a diary of avents.
good luck.

kate