A former paralegal has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in costs after an employment tribunal ruled that her claim against a law firm was “hopeless and misconceived.”
In a stinging rebuke issued by the Watford Employment Tribunal, Employment Judge Jennifer Young determined that Angel Mirembe, a law graduate who previously worked for ClaimLion Law, had acted unreasonably in pursuing a series of claims including wrongful dismissal, racial discrimination and victimisation.
Ms Mirembe, who was not legally represented during the tribunal proceedings, was nonetheless found to possess a sufficient legal background to understand the merit—or lack thereof—of her case. Evidence submitted revealed she held a law degree, completed the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Part 1 in 2021, and was undertaking the Bar course in 2023, though she did not pass.
In her judgment, Judge Young said:
“We considered that the claimant did work in the legal arena and had access to legal resources as she was doing the Bar course at the time she was preparing her case. She could have looked up the law surrounding her claim.”
The tribunal concluded that Ms Mirembe’s claims were ill-founded. Specifically, the wrongful dismissal aspect of her case was described as “on any analysis hopeless,” with the judge asserting the claimant “knew she was dishonest as to why she was being dismissed.”
Ms Mirembe’s claims of racial discrimination and victimisation were also brought into question. The tribunal noted that she had returned to work for the firm after a previous stint without raising any complaint of racial bias. It was only upon her dismissal that these issues were raised.
Although the tribunal refrained from concluding that Ms Mirembe acted with an improper motive, it made clear that her actions fell short of expected standards of conduct—particularly given her legal training.
A secondary respondent, Kim Fenton, was named in the proceedings owing to her involvement in drafting Ms Mirembe’s dismissal letter. The tribunal found this action to be “utterly unreasonable,” given the context and the claimant’s awareness of the circumstances surrounding her departure.
The tribunal heard that Ms Mirembe had sought £50,000 in compensation. She had previously turned down a £2,000 settlement offer from ClaimLion Law, choosing instead to make a counter-offer of £22,000. This decision further factored into the tribunal’s consideration of costs.
“The claimant had worked for the respondent before and had never complained of race discrimination and had gone back to work for the respondent,” Judge Young said.
Ultimately, the tribunal capped the award at its statutory limit of £20,000. Ms Mirembe was ordered to pay £19,655 to the law firm and an additional £848 in preparation time costs to Ms Fenton. The tribunal noted that ClaimLion Law had indicated a willingness to adopt a “sensible approach” to recovering the costs.
While not labelling Ms Mirembe’s behaviour as vexatious, the judgment clearly outlines a lack of reasonable prospect for success in her claims, highlighting the significance of legal knowledge and responsible use of tribunal resources.
The Workers Union Says…
“This case underscores the weight that tribunals place on informed conduct, especially where the claimant possesses legal education or professional experience. It also signals that claimants who ignore early settlement offers and pursue weak claims may face significant financial consequences.”
