Senior London Lawyer Launches Law Suit Against Employers

Thu, 24 Jun 2010

A senior London lawyer has issued an £800,000 law suit against her former employers Zurich Insurance over claims that she suffered harassment from a female junior colleague. 53 year old Caroline Cowper enjoyed an annual salary of £150,000 as Head of Legal at Zurich – a role which saw her manage Pearl Lestrade-Brown.

Miss Cowper alleges that Miss Lestrade-Brown repeatedly bullied her, labelling her ‘completely mental’, and falsely accusing her of having an inappropriate relationship with a male colleague. Miss Cowper also claims that Zurich frequently ignored her claims that Miss Lestrade-Brown’s antics were causing her stress, as well as wrongly backing her subordinate in a grievance appeal. Miss Cowper alleges that these factors combined caused her to have a mental breakdown, a breakdown which caused her to take sick leave and ultimately culminated in her dismissal.

Miss Cowper’s barrister, Peter Edwards, claims that she was dismissed on medical grounds in October 2008, and told the court how the pair’s relationship was irrevocably harmed during an attempt to cool the fractious relationship between the two lawyers .

Zurich UK Services denies all liability in the case.
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