A leading Scottish lawyer had his £120,000 sports car attacked during a 14-month stalking campaign by an obsessive former client. Joanne Maxwell caused extensive scratches to the luxury Mercedes on at least two occasions.
She turned up repeatedly at Diarmid Bruce’s office, demanding to see files, and pelted one of his colleagues with eggs. Maxwell, 34, now faces sentence after admitting a course of conduct that caused the Lanarkshire-based lawyer fear or alarm.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard she used an unknown implement to damage the Mercedes, including carving an offensive word on the bonnet.
The cost of repairs was well in excess of £1000. Maxwell, of Motherwell, admitted pestering Bruce between January 26, 2021, and March 29 this year.
She also admitted shouting abuse at solicitor Simon Gilmour, throwing eggs at him and his car and pouring the contents of a bottle over another staff member outside the firm’s Motherwell office.
Bruce the Lawyers, which also has offices in Glasgow and Airdrie, is one of Scotland’s most successful criminal law firms.
Maxwell was a former client and trouble began when she demanded access to papers the firm said she was not entitled to see.
Eventually the police were called in after she confronted a female employee in the street and poured an unspecified liquid over her. After Maxwell’s guilty pleas, Sheriff Ross Macfarlane deferred sentence until next month for background and medical reports.
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