Today’s Lawyer of the Day hails from the other side of the pond. From the London Times:

A City lawyer who is demanding £19 million in compensation for work-place bullying faked a nervous breakdown to secure a larger payout, an employment tribunal was told.

Gill Switalski, 51, the former head of legal affairs at Foreign & Colonial (F&C), an asset management company, pretended that her ordeal left her unfit to work so that she could sue for loss of future earnings, it was claimed yesterday.

While Ms Switalski claimed that bullying from male colleagues had left her in such poor mental health that she was “unable to read a newspaper”, she was being interviewed for jobs at two rival City firms at about the same time, F&C’s lawyers said. One interview led to a lucrative job offer at a rival asset manager that Ms Switalski initially accepted before changing her mind.

Faking a breakdown to earn millions — and maybe an Oscar, too? Sounds like Switalski should be a movie star.

Since Switalski’s performance was apparently compelling enough to get two tribunals to rule in her favor (the current proceedings are about damages), we say: give her the £19 million. Or at least £12 million, the equivalent in British pounds of what a top American actress might earn per picture.

Lawyer Gill Switalski ‘faked nervous breakdown to claim £19m’ [Times - U.K.]