MAIL ONLINE: A barrister claiming £33million compensation from her sex-scandal legal firm today warned she could 'lose the will to live' unless she wins.
Aisha Bijlani broke down in tears at the employment tribunal into race discrimination and victimisation which she claims she suffered at prestigious legal chambers Four New Square.
She told the hearing she may never recover from her ordeal at the hands of her bosses.
She has already accused the senior clerk, Lizzie Wiseman, of having extra-marital affairs with two former heads of chambers, Justin Fenwick QC, a Deputy High Court judge, and Roger Stewart QC, a part-time judge.
Dr Bijlani said they had driven her to clinical depression and left her £7million out of pocket in lost earnings to date. In total, she is demanding £33million, plus interest.
Today, she told Central London Employment Tribunal: 'Unless I win my case and am vindicated, I have no doubt I will not be able to work again and I may lose the will to live. What [the] chambers and Roger have done to me should not have been allowed to occur.'
She continued: 'Roger Stewart made my life a misery and exacerbated my condition as much as he could. From being a very hard-working professional who took great pride in her work and her home, I feel I have lost my identity and my life has fallen apart.'
Mr Stewart, 46, a married father of three, was not in the tribunal yesterday. But 44-year-old Mrs Wiseman, a mother-of-four who now lives with him, sat listening to the evidence.
Several times, Dr Bijlani wept in the witness box, and at one point the hearing was halted after she ran from the room crying.
Dr Bijlani accuses the firm of hiring racist legal clerks who regarded her as an 'educated wog' and constantly undermined her, the tribunal has heard.
When in February 2006 she complained to Mrs Wiseman and Mr Stewart, then head of chambers, she says he branded her a 'failure at the Bar'.
She told the hearing: 'I had done him no harm and found it difficult to understand why he could be so cruel for no reason. I have always tried to help people and still can't rationalise his cruelty.'
Indian-born Dr Bijlani, who is in her early forties and trained as a doctor before switching to a career at the Bar, said she was subsequently victimised by Mr Stewart and Mrs Wiseman and now suffered from depression.
She said: 'I still have difficulty getting to sleep and often toss and turn for hours or just cry. Tearful barrister claiming £33m for victimisation says she may 'lose the will to live' if her case fails >>> Sam Greenhill | Friday, October 16, 2009
