NEWSJohnny Depp Vs. Amber Heard: Inside Camille Vasquez's Grueling Defamation Trial Prep
Camille Vasquez opened up on her and the rest of Johnny Depp's legal team's exhausting routine throughout the highly publicized defamation trial.
The six week legal battle ended on Wednesday, June 1, when the jury ruled Amber Heard was liable for defamation against her estranged ex-husband after writing an article claiming to be a victim of domestic and sexual violence. The judge ordered the actress to pay the Pirates of the Caribbean star $10 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
Despite being in the spotlight, the powerhouse lawyer made it clear that she and Ben Chew were not the only members of the team, noting she worked alongside "the most amazing group of young lawyers" who all came from "different political backgrounds," praising their individual experience and strategic elements they brought to the case.
"After court, we would go back to the hotel where we lived and was our little nest, if you will, for months," Vasquez told People in an interview published on Thursday, June 9. "We would change. We would have food served. Then we had two war rooms where we would be until sometimes 5:00 in the morning the next day. It was very intense."
AMBER HEARD 'JUST DOESN'T UNDERSTAND' HOW SHE LOST VERDICT IN JOHNNY DEPP'S DEFAMATION SUIT: SOURCE
Vasquez also mentioned the lack of sleep only got worse as the group of attorneys prepared for Heard's cross-examination in week five.
"Before I did her cross and before I delivered the opening and closing arguments, I would go to bed around 1 or 2 in the morning. And then my team would stay up till 5, 5:30, and slide whatever it was that we were working on under my door," she told the outlet. "I would wake up to them under my door and they would sleep for an hour, an hour and a half. Then we would all go to court together. I mean, we were really running on fumes."
Although, the trial proved to be intense and grueling for Depp's diverse legal team, Vasquez pointed out they all shared one, important thing in common: "All of us believed Johnny and believed that he didn't do this. We were looking at it from that perspective."
