CLAIM: north London lawyer set to struggle on with claim despite lack of funding

A north London sole practitioner has suffered a setback in her race discrimination action against the Legal Services Commission (LSC) after a major source of funding withdrew from the case.

Yvonne Patterson, of Wembley firm Patterson Sebastian, started proceedings against the LSC this year, alleging she had been denied contracts in four areas of law after an auditor treated her less favourably than her white counterparts (see [2003] Gazette, 6 February, 5).

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) initially backed Ms Patterson's case, but it has now refused further funding on the grounds that the action did not have a strong likelihood of success.

The CRE also said that although the case might clarify an important point of law not dealt with previously, it would not be important in that it was only limited to Ms Patterson and would not affect a large number of people.

The Court of Appeal heard Ms Patterson's case this week; the hearing was adjourned.

Ms Patterson said she will fight on although she will struggle to fund the action, adding that she was perplexed by the CRE's decision as her barrister had predicted good chances of success.

'Morality, equity and good conscience demand that the CRE should live up to its founding principles and take timely action in view of the immediate and wider implications for the practice, as well as the community which it serves,' she argued.

A CRE spokeswoman said it did not wish to comment further on the litigation, 'whether we are directly involved in the case or not'.

Paula Rohan