A law degree is one of the toughest degrees to get. And then comes the challenges of actually making it as a lawyer. However, a 19-year-old student of the law from the United Kingdom is off to a great start.
Jack Simm, an undergraduate, filed and fought his first case even before he graduated. He had filed a case against his landlord because his accommodations at the university were “unfit”. And, to his credit, Simm won the case too.
The First Case Of The Law Student
Jack Simm was a fresher at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He had just moved into the student accommodation named Velocity Student in Norwich. Simm had received his university seat via clearing. So he never got the chance to review the accommodations before arriving there.
However, when he did get to the place, a disappointing scene greeted him. This is how Simm describes the place in an interview with the BBC[1]:
“It was a building site. There were skips everywhere, tradesmen everywhere, hammering the ceiling, hammering the walls. The place was covered in dust from sanding. It was almost ironic and funny that people were moving into this place because it looked awful. It was just a bit of a dire state really.”
Estateducation was the property’s manager and the Freedman Project LLP developed it. There were also more problems on top of the obvious ones, such as no Wi-Fi or heating.
But, Simm still stayed on for a week. He said:
“We gave the landlord a week to sort everything out and at the end nothing had been resolved so I moved out and handed my keys in.”
However, the landlord had reportedly requested a “debt collection agency to threaten Jack Simm with recovery action,” as per a Times report[2]. After this, Jack decided to use what he knew of the law to help himself.
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The Decision To Stand For Himself
Jack, a law student as well as a rugby player, originally resided in Newcastle. He began to collect statements from witnesses, and compile stature law and case law regarding contract representation. Then, he filed a case against his landlord for breach of contract and misrepresentation.
Jack found it to be “quite easy”. He said:
“I studied contract law at the time. To me it was quite an easy case of opening my contract law textbook and looking through some of the relevant law and applied it to the situation.”
He had filed to get back his deposit and the rent for the first month. On the other side, his opponents claimed the entire tenancy amount as per the agreement – about £7,000. Jack kept tightening the case as much as he could until the last date. He built a legal claim spanning 10 pages for the case
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On November 2nd, the County Court of Newcastle held a hearing online to judge on the case. Jack’s application of the law was enough to get him the win. He received £999 in total. The hearing went on for an hour.
As for his victory, this is what the law student had to say[3]:
“It’s the best bit of revision I’ve ever done… Winning shows that I can do it. It’s given me a massive confidence boost.”
Jack also added that people need to step up more:
“You just can’t let these landlords win. [You’ve] got to take them to court if this happens. Change will happen. The culture needs to change.”
Well, the law needs courage, and Jack showed that he would make a fine lawyer in the future. May his future cases be just as inspirational and successful as his first one!
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Sources
- “Law student, 19, sues landlord and wins first case.” BBC. Sam Gruet and Lisa Wright. December 14, 2021.
- “Law student takes on landlord and wins case.” The Times. Kaya Burgess. December 13, 2021.
- “Law student, 19, uses textbooks to win court case against landlord for ‘unfit’ university accommodation.” Daily Mail. Rory Tingle. December 13, 2021.