Merrill Lynch defends itself against lawsuit

Stephanie Villalba, the woman suing Merrill Lynch for £7.1mn over claims of sex discrimination, has been accused of not having the right skills for her job. On the first day of the employment tribunal hearing, Merrill Lynch claimed that she was dismissed because of her poor performance and confrontational management style.Villalba is claiming unfair dismissal, victimisation, sex discrimination and unequal pay.