Aspiring lawyer wins right to sue law firm over discriminatory denial of training contract
Epelle, who is representing herself, alleges she was unfairly excluded from the firm's recruitment process due to her race, nationality, and visa status.
Anne Epelle, a law graduate and aspiring solicitor, has been granted permission to proceed with parts of her discrimination claim against top City law firm Clyde & Co after being denied a training contract. The Employment Tribunal ruled that her case could go forward despite objections from the firm over timing.
Epelle, who is representing herself, alleges she was unfairly excluded from the firm's recruitment process due to her race, nationality, and visa status. She claims she was denied access to a remote assessment despite having passed the initial screening stage for training contract positions in Clyde & Co's Bristol and Hamburg offices.
According to tribunal documents, Epelle completed her law conversion course and Legal Practice Course (LPC) at The University of Law after first earning an engineering degree from the University of Leeds. She was living in Nigeria at the time of her application and argues that requiring her to attend an in-person assessment, while the firm’s website advertised virtual assessment centres, amounted to discriminatory treatment.
Clyde & Co’s legal team contended that Epelle’s claims were out of time and that the in-person requirement for the Bristol office was standard. However, Employment Judge Oliver Segal ruled the matter was “not entirely straightforward” due to new information Epelle only uncovered later in the process. He allowed the main claim to proceed while striking out others.
Attempts by Epelle to include senior partners in the legal action were rejected, with the judge finding no direct link between them and the decisions in question. Similarly, her claims of direct discrimination and harassment against members of the recruitment team were also struck out.
The case comes after an earlier appeal overturned a lower tribunal’s decision that had dismissed her claims for falling outside jurisdiction.
While parts of her case remain active, the firm declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter. Clyde & Co is among the UK’s largest legal employers, recruiting more than 70 trainees annually with starting salaries ranging from £24,000 to £47,000 depending on the location.
The case is now set to proceed to a full hearing, potentially setting a precedent on how global law firms handle remote applicants and diversity in recruitment.
