London-based
attorney
Linda
Lu
has
made
her
way
through
a
number
of
Biglaw
firms
during
the
course
of
her
career,
including
Fried
Frank,
Cadwalader,
Wickersham
&
Taft,
and
Pillsbury
Winthrop
Shaw
Pittman.
Now
she’ll
be
getting
a
very
different
view
of
the
legal
system
—
from
jail.
And
it’s
all
because
of
a
garden
hedge.
In
October,
Lu,
along
with
her
mother,
Susan
Chen,
was
convicted
of
stalking
that
caused
serious
alarm
or
distress.
Last
week,
they
were
sentenced
to
five
and
a
half
years
in
jail.
As
reported
by
Legal
Cheek,
the
judge
was
appalled
by
their
behavior:
On
sentencing,
Judge
James
House
KC
said
that
the
pair
had
begun
a
“persistent,
calculated
and
appalling
series
of
behaviours
designed
to
cause
the
victims
the
maximum
distress
possible”,
adding
that
it
was
“one
of
the
most
serious
cases
of
this
kind
that
this
court
has
had
to
deal
with”.
So
what
exactly
happened?
Well,
in
July
2023,
Lu’s
neighbors,
James
and
Lynn
Smith,
attempted
to
trim
the
hedge
between
their
property
and
the
one
rented
by
Chen.
That
resulted
in
Lu
“threatening
him
with
legal
action
from
an
upstairs
window.”
But
it
didn’t
stop
there.
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.
Before
being
convicted,
Lu
and
Chen
were
sent
community
protection
notices,
warning
letters,
and
arrested
on
several
occasions
—
none
of
which
stopped
their
behavior.
In
addition
to
being
jailed
for
more
than
five
years,
orders
of
protection
were
also
granted
to
the
victims,
their
family,
other
witnesses,
or
their
employers
preventing
Lu
and
Chen
from
contacting
them.
Lu
and
Chen
cannot
be
anywhere
those
people
may
be
or
even
enter
the
village
of
Bassingham.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].