The lawyer taking on VW
The ‘legend in litigation’ who is taking on the car giant
THE boss of Volkswagen in the UK appeared before MPs last week and implied that owners of vehicles blighted by the emissions scandal may not be due any compensation.
Paul Willis’s words did not impress Bozena Michalowska, the partner at law firm Leigh Day who is hoping to act for thousands of drivers whose vehicles are set to be recalled.
‘It’s a completely inadequate response,’ she declares. ‘It’s just not good enough.’
More than 4,500 VW owners have already contacted Leigh Day. It is not the only law firm chasing VW, but so far it has made most of the running, firing off letters to VW. And Michalowska has been speaking out on their behalf to anyone who will listen.
‘Paul Willis said on Thursday that VW really do care about their customers,’ she says. ‘If they really do care then they should come to the table.’
The 49-year-old lawyer is chatty and informal. ‘Call me Boz,’ she says when I meet her. But her record would suggest she is not to be trifled with. She has been described in the legal press as a ‘legend in product litigation’. She has acted for claimants against drug companies, medical device firms and tobacco giants.
She has represented victims of asbestos poisoning and – with particular passion because of her Polish background – she has acted for victims of Nazi slave labour programmes.
In the emissions case she believes VW must quickly agree a settlement deal for customers.
It emerged last week that 8.5million Volkswagens (plus some Audis and Skodas – brands now owned by VW) would have to be recalled in Europe. About 1.2million of those are in the UK.
‘A settlement would be the most desirable outcome,’ she says. ‘They have effectively admitted liability now, so there should be no need to go through the courts on this. I would be surprised if they wanted to spend money on their lawyers rather than on their customers.
‘If they were to try to dispute this the only people who benefit are the lawyers. Let’s agree a settlement scheme. You can’t just pluck figures out of the air, so they will get their expert evidence and we will get our expert evidence. But we need to sit down and talk about a proper settlement scheme.’
Michalowska contacted VW at the end of last month just after the scandal broke. She wrote again on Thursday, this time directly to Willis to berate him for his attitude in front of MPs and to seek more answers.
She has estimated that owners of affected cars could be due an average of £2,000 compensation each.
‘This comes back down to the cost to the customer of having the refit that is now needed, the impact on fuel economy of that refit and the residual value of the car,’ she says.
‘For some people £2,000 is a very significant loss. People are carefully choosing the car that they can afford – not only in terms of price but its fuel economy, its tax charges and parking costs.
‘If you are a hard-working person who can’t afford a Porsche you are probably significantly worse off as a result of this.
‘We have had individuals who were already planning to sell their cars when this happened and have gone to a dealer and been told, “We’re not taking these cars now”.’
VW will start its recall in January and it will take most of next year to complete the job. Michalowska argues that meanwhile, owners may find it hard to sell their cars except at knock-down prices.
She also believes that many customers will be genuinely concerned by the health and environmental issues relating to their car.
‘Of course some people won’t care and I know Jeremy Clarkson said recently, “I don’t care what comes out of the poo chute of my VW”.’ She sighs: ‘What an idiot.’
After getting a degree in History and Drama at the University of Kent, she ditched plans for an acting career (‘Being on stage every night is so stressful’) and instead studied law.
‘I joined Leigh Day in 1997 to do tobacco litigation with [one of the firm’s founding partners] Martyn Day. I’ve been doing group actions ever since. We’ve done a broad range of stuff – usually pharmaceutical and medical devices which are very scientific based. At the moment we are involved in litigation on metal-onmetal hip replacements.’
And then there were the slave labour victims. ‘I did cases on behalf of British Poles bringing cases against German and Austrian com- panies and the German government for compensation for slave labour during the Second World War.
‘I felt a connection. I am Polish myself and my parents were wartime Poles. We acted for more than 1,000 people, mostly Polish.’
She succeeded in securing those British survivors a place in the international compensation scheme.
Her parents met in Britain after the war. ‘My mother was in Russia and was transported to a Russian labour camp. My father was in the underground resistance in Poland
If they were to try to dispute this, the only people who benefit are the lawyers
I wanted to do legal aid work. I am fortunate that I can do David and Goliath cases
and then fought in Anders’ Army.’ The Polish forces under General Anders were in effect exiled after communist rule took over in postwar Poland and her father came to Britain. He settled in Brixton, SouthWest London, where Michalowska was born and raised.
She says she is significantly motivated in her job by a sympathy for the underdog. ‘I did law because I wanted to do legal aid work,’ she says. ‘I am fortunate that I can do these David and Goliath cases. We all get very excited by this kind of work. There is a kind of legal geekiness about it all. You feel a passion for the science, but the most exciting thing is the difference you can make to the clients.’
To some it will sound too good to be true. Many in business regard firms like Leigh Day as ‘ambulance chasers’ who encourage clients to sue by operating on a no-win, no-fee basis.
‘You talk about ambulance chasing, but in reality the number of claimant cases has actually reduced from what it was under legal aid,’ she declares. ‘Now, to bring a claim it has to be strong and valid because the law firm that takes these cases on is itself taking a significant risk.
‘If you did not have the lawyers who were prepared to do these cases on a no-win, no-fee basis the community would be significantly worse off. We play an important role in ensuring access to justice and ultimately protecting public health.’
Of course, companies on the receiving end of group litigation may feel slightly different.
Away from the office Michalowska is mother to two children (Teddy and Freddy, age nine and 12) and she now lives in West Norwood, not far from her birthplace.
Unlike in the Polish cases she has no personal connection to the VW scandal – she does not own one. ‘I drive a really scratched-up old Subaru,’ she says. ‘So scratched it doesn’t matter what anyone does to it.
‘I have not had the money or the time to upgrade it, but since I’ve been speaking to motoring journalists, I sense that for some people it might have some cachet.’
But perhaps she won’t be discussing it with Jeremy Clarkson.