Convicted alongside mother
A solicitor who spent time working in the London offices of several top US law firms has been found guilty of stalking her neighbour.
Linda Lu, 35, was found guilty this week, along with her mother, Susan Chen, of stalking that caused serious alarm or distress.
BBC News reports that the victims, James and Lynn Smith, were targeted by the pair following a disagreement about a hedge in July 2023.
When Mr Smith attempted to trim the hedge separating his property from the one rented by Chen, Lu reportedly objected, “threatening him with legal action from an upstairs window”.
Lu spent time in the London offices of several leading US firms, including Fried Frank, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. She completed her training at Scottish outfit Dickson Minto and qualified as a solicitor in 2015.
Videos recorded by Mr Smith, which were played in court, reportedly showed Chen and Lu “shouting derogatory abuse”, including the use of terms such as “retards”.
The actions continued for more than two months following the initial dispute, and included alleged “periods of loud metallic banging”, according to the BBC’s report.
Lu and her mother, who represented themselves during the trial, claimed that they were, in fact, the ones being “stalked and harassed”.
Despite their claims, both were found guilty after a five-week trial at Lincoln Crown Court, with the jury reaching a verdict in less than two hours. The pair have been remanded in custody, awaiting sentencing in December.”
Judge James House KC adjourned sentencing to give time for victim impact statements and the production of a pre-sentence report. Lu agreed to assist with the preparation of a psychiatric report, while Chen chose not to.
In 2021, Lu faced allegations of misconduct from the solicitors’ regulator due to a series of posts on her Instagram account, which at the time had over 330,000 followers. She was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.