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20-year-old law student represents himself against former employer
A University of Leeds second-year law student has represented himself in his first-ever case; he defended a claim against a former employer — and won.
Jess Feyder
Hazem Ezzeldin (Image: © SWNS)
Twenty-year-old Hazem Ezzeldin had a claim made against him by a former employer — a trampoline park where he had worked for eight months — that they had overpaid him during the furlough scheme period, Mr Ezzeldin explained via a now-viral LinkedIn post.
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Two years after the company filed the claim, he represented himself at Dartford County Court. Whilst Mr Ezzeldin did not publicly state the amount that was being claimed from him, county courts only deal with claims less than £10,000.
The law student was eager to harness his learnings, poring over the Employment Rights Act 1996 and case studies of people who had employers file claims against them regarding overpayment.
Mr Ezzeldin was initially nervous about the prospect of representing himself in court, although his perspective quickly changed, Legal Cheek reported last week (15 November).
“I was immediately reminded that this is what I am supposed to be doing a couple of years from now when I become a lawyer," he told the UK-based publication.
“I started looking at the experience as a privilege more than a challenge,” he said.
“The benefits that this case allowed me to gain meant a lot more to me than whether it was ruled to be in mine or the claimants’ favour.”
Mr Ezzeldin described the experience of representing himself in court as “amazing”.
“I can proudly say that I have won my first-ever case!” he declared in a LinkedIn post.
“I genuinely thought I was going to lose because, as it was my first case, I stumbled on my words, and I wasn’t very confident at first.
“I was very happy because I didn’t expect it, if I’m being honest,” he stated.
Mr Ezzeldin detailed his plans to become a corporate solicitor at a Magic Circle firm in the future.
