Depp Lawyer Vasquez Leaves Brown Rudnick for Sheppard Mullin

Camille Vasquez, the California lawyer who helped actor Johnny Depp win $15 million in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, and four others from Depp’s Brown Rudnick team have left for a new law firm.

The team has joined Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton’s litigation practice group.

Brown Rudnick elevated Vasquez to partner in 2022 less than a week after a Virginia jury returned a verdict for Depp in the high profile lawsuit. “Camille’s performance during the Johnny Depp trial proved to the world that she was ready to take this next step,” Brown Rudnick chairman William Baldiga said at the time.

The team that joined Vasquez in her move to the new firm includes Leo Presiado, Andrew Crawford, Jessica Meyers and Samuel Moniz. Everyone will practice in the firm’s Orange County, California office except for Crawford, who is based in Washington, DC.

“This trial team underscores the top-tier talent we continue to attract,” Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard Mullin, said in a statement. “The combination of their brand reputation practice with our renowned entertainment, private wealth and fiduciary litigation practices will be a blockbuster for their clients and ours.”

Sheppard Mullin made over $1.1 billion in gross revenue in 2023, according to data from The American Lawyer. It doled out more than $2.3 million to each of the firm’s equity partners, according to the data.