Solicitor: my boss bullied me
January 07, 2008
A Newcastle solicitor has alleged that she was treated so badly by a law firm colleague that she gave birth prematurely.
Naomi Mainwaring claims that Lesley Crinson, a partner at the city's Short, Richardson and Forth firm, bullied her by making a series of derogatory comments about her appearance, the Daily Mail reports.
The 26-year-old, who is claiming compensation for sexual discrimination at a north-east employment tribunal, says that her 53-year-old colleague's taunts worsened after she announced that she was pregnant in 2006.
Mrs Mainwaring said: "I felt isolated and victimised…I was extremely scared of Lesley."
The solicitor gave birth to her daughter one month prematurely last June - and says that doctors told her that stress could have brought on the early labour.
"My daughter had tubes up her nose for the first week and a half of her life - I feel the firm is responsible for that," she claimed.
Mrs Crinson, who lives in Whitley Bay, denies the charges.
Should she be found guilty, however, she could face further disciplinary action from the Legal Services Commission - the regulatory arm of the Law Society which deals with cases of solicitor negligence.