Johnny Depp 'is dating lawyer' after Amber Heard defamation trial

They found love in a hopeless place

Johnny Depp is dating one of the attorneys from his U.K. libel case, Joelle Rich, reports say. According to People, sources have said: "They are dating but it's not serious." However, a source has claimed to UsWeekly that Rich and Depp are "seriously dating", saying "their chemistry is off the charts" and "they are the real deal". Rich should not be confused for his most recent lawyer Camille Vasquez who made headline this year during his US defamation case in Fairfax County, Virginia. [caption id="attachment_360128" align="alignnone" width="796"]

They are pictured together at his recent defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, with a source claiming that Rich attended the case to offer 'support' to the actor (Picture: Getty Images)[/caption] Rich - who is a partner at major law firm Schillings - is currently in the middle of getting divorced from her husband Jonathan. They have two kids together. UsWeekly claimed that Depp's relationship with Rich began 'discreetly' as they had dates at hotels so they could avoid busy restaurants where their romance could have been outed. JOEMedia have contacted reps for Johnny Depp for a comment. Rich is a London lawyer who was on 59-year-old Depp's legal team during his libel case against The Sun, which he lost in November 2020. [caption id="attachment_360129" align="alignnone" width="756"]

Rich, who is a partner at Schillings, worked with Depp on his 2020 trial in London (Picture: SchillingsPartners.com)[/caption] He sued the newspaper for calling him a "wife-beater," but the court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and his ex-wife Amber Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled. Earlier this year, Depp's most recent defamation case against Heard, ended up as a victory for him as the jury found that Heard defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence, though she didn't mention him by name. Depp was awarded more than $10 million in damages, and Heard, meanwhile, won one of her three defamation countersuit claims and was awarded $2 million. [caption id="attachment_336829" align="alignnone" width="1527"]

Rumours circulated around claiming that Depp was dating his other lawyer Camille Vasquez. (Picture: Supplied)[/caption] After the 2022 trial, Heard announced that she would be appealing the verdict via a spokesperson. Though Rich was not on Depp's legal team this time, she did make several court appearances to show support. She was snapped with Depp outside of the courthouse on May 3, and she was pictured hugging Depp's attorney Vasquez inside the courtroom on May 16.