Johnny Depp’s attorney, Camille Vasquez, has taken on a new celebrity client, signing on to represent Yellowstone star Q’orianka Kilcher in her legal battle against the state of California.
Vasquez represented Depp in the six-week-long, multi-million dollar defamation trial between the actor and his ex-wife Amber Heard earlier this year, emerging as a celebrity in her own right as she was applauded numerous times in the courtroom.
After the jury declared that Heard defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star, awarding him $10.35 million in damages, Vasquez was promoted to partner of the Brown Rudnick law firm.
She is once again taking on a high-profile case, representing Kilcher, who was charged earlier this year with two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud. The case was filed by the California Department of Insurance in July, alleging that the actor collected disability benefits while working on the show despite claiming she was too injured to work.
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Kilcher was involved in a car accident in 2018 on the set of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, injuring her neck and right shoulder, and a source close to the actor told Newsweek that she is “10 percent disabled for the rest of her life.”
She sought treatment for her injuries but reportedly stopped and “did not respond to the insurance company handling her claim on behalf of her employer,” according to the California Department of Insurance.
A year later, the department said that Kilcher returned to receiving “temporary total disability benefits” and getting treatments for her injury, reportedly telling the insurance company that she was offered a job but couldn’t accept it “because her neck pain was too severe .”
An investigation earlier this summer found that Kilcher allegedly received a total of $96,838 in “undeserved disability benefits,” while working on Yellowstone despite statements to a doctor claiming that she could not work for a year due to pain.
Vasquez and Brown announced in a joint statement on Wednesday, “We are determined to defend Ms. Kilcher in this important case which examines the inherent flaws in the disability compensation system. Ms. Kilcher is a well-respected and pioneering actress in Hollywood, and we intend to clear her name.”
Vasquez will be accompanied in the case by attorney Steve Cook. A preliminary hearing for the case was set for November 1 in Los Angeles.
A source close to Kilcher told Newsweek that the actor “has been spending the last few weeks surrounded by friends and family who have been supporting her during this incredibly difficult time. She was shocked, to say the least, about the charges and is looking forward to getting the truth out there. “
Kilcher is reportedly set to return to Yellowstone for season five, joining stars Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly and Luke Grimes as she picks up her role as Angela Blue Thunder.
Newsweek reached out to Vasquez and a representative for Kilcher for comment.