Beautician Wins Major Property Case for Mom, Gets Law School Scholarship
A 23-year-old beautician with no legal training who made headlines by defeating a big British property developer in a High Court case earlier this month is now headed to law school, with the help of a scholarship.
Young, blond and apparently underestimated, Georgina Blackwell saved her mother’s home and business by successfully arguing that the right of access claimed by Beltway Homes applied only to one wall, according to Legal Week.
Although nervous about appearing in front of the court, Blackwell knew she was her mother’s only hope for overturning a previous High Court judgment:
“I opened the case, gave evidence and cross-examined their solicitor,” she tells the Daily Mail.
Thrilled when a judgment was read in her mother’s favor, she restrained herself from jumping up and down. Meanwhile, “Bellway’s legal team sat there with no expressions, heads down,” she recounts. “The barrister came over and congratulated me. He said I had put up a good fight.”
Her mother, 52, had been ordered to pay a hefty damages award for refusing the developer access to her land. After the win, Beltway agreed to pay Blackwell’s mother almost $125,000 for access, according to Legal Week.
Blackwell, who has been offered a law school scholarship of a little over $16,000 as a result of the publicity she earned by prevailing against Beltway, calls the situation the chance of a lifetime, the legal publication reports.
However, she adds, “the idea of giving up work again and becoming a student is a bit scary, plus I’ll miss my old job and my lovely clients.”
