A solicitor whose Runcorn-based firm was shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority two years ago has been handed a suspended prison sentence for harassment.
Susilla Mercer, 44, had been charged with harassment of her estranged husband, Gerard Flynn, and the racially aggravated harassment of his new partner, Shelina Kurz, between January 2023 and July 2024. She failed to attend her trial and was convicted in her absence.
Mercer - whose firm Mercer Law was closed down in August 2023 following an SRA probe into allegations of dishonesty - made unfounded allegations of assault against Flynn. These resulted in him being detained and interviewed by police, a court heard.
Prosecutors told how, when he was released without charge, Mercer messaged Flynn saying: ’I am sorry I got you arrested but I did not want to spend £200 to £300 an hour on a water tight divorce.
‘The copper then took it out of my hands and I spent the time with two barristers trying to get you out to make sure that the CPS did not take it further.’
She also posted a profile picture of Kurz on social media and made derogatory and racist comments about her.
Sarah Bailey, defending, said: ‘This is an acrimonious divorce and a new partner has been introduced. Obviously there are issues in that marriage resulting in divorce proceedings being started. This has affected the defendant quite significantly and there are concerns about her mental health.
‘She wants to put across that the allegations were of a serious nature along with some assaults that she told police he had committed against her but there was not enough evidence to convict and she is quite upset that nothing was done about that. She is here for what she says is just a couple of Facebook messages.’
At Warrington Magistrates' Court (pictured), Mercer was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail suspended for 12 months. She was banned from contacting the couple for 12 months under the terms of a restraining order and ordered to pay £804 in cost and a victim surcharge.
In the runup to the court hearing, she had posted pictures on Facebook of her wedding invitations which had been written on Mercer Law headed paper with the caption: ‘What a waste of £60,000’.
Mercer is no longer practising, according to the SRA website. The regulator is still investigating after the intervention and is aware of the court case.
