A north London solicitor is forging ahead with her race discrimination claim against the Legal Services Commission (LSC) after the House of Lords said that the Employment Appeal Tribunal had the jurisdiction to hear the case (see [2003] Gazette, 27 November, 3).

Yvonne Patterson, sole principal at Patterson Sebastian, has been fighting the procedural point against the LSC for three years; she claims she was turned down for franchises because her firm is Afro-Caribbean and she is effectively an employee of the LSC.

The LSC has denied this interpretation.

Ms Patterson complained that the LSC had spent public money trying to keep her case out of the tribunal.

'In doing so, they have prevented me from using my professional skills to their fullest capacity,' she said.

The LSC said it would defend the case 'vigorously'.

Paula Rohan