Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that a five-lawyer trial team, which successfully represented actor Johnny Depp in his defamation trial against his former wife, has joined the firm’s Business Trial practice group. The group includes partners Camille M. Vasquez, Leo Presiado, Andrew C. Crawford, Jessica N. Meyers and Samuel A. Moniz.
They all were previously partners at Brown Rudnick, where Vasquez co-chaired the Brand & Reputation Management group. Vasquez, Presiado, Meyers and Moniz reside in the firm’s Orange County office, while Crawford resides in Washington, D.C.
“This trial team underscores the top-tier talent we continue to attract,” said Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard Mullin. “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.”
“Following the recent hires of commercial and securities litigator Tom Panoff in Chicago and entertainment litigator Wook Hwang in New York, this team exemplifies the latest expansion of our growing litigation practice,” said Sascha Henry, co-leader of Sheppard Mullin’s Business Trial practice group. “This is a team of exceptionally skilled and tenacious trial lawyers who take on the toughest of cases.”
“We see great opportunity for them at Sheppard Mullin and look forward to helping them achieve their goals of continuing to grow their practice and client base on a national scale,” Henry added.
Vasquez added, “In addition to the firm’s top-notch litigation practice, we were attracted to the firm’s global footprint, full-service platform and its culture of collaboration. We look forward to building on the firm’s already successful litigation capabilities and offering a deeper and wider bench to clients throughout the country.”
In addition to the now-famous Depp case, Vasquez and her team are handling numerous high-profile brand reputation and defamation matters, including:
- Representing producers of the musical film “The Deb” in a suit filed against actress Rebel Wilson for defamation in LA Superior Court.
- Representing singer Gloria Trevi in three separate litigations in Texas and California relating to abuse allegations of which she was acquitted of in Mexico in 2004.
- Defending composer and musician Danny Elfman in connection with allegations that he defamed composer Nomi Abadi in comments published in a Rolling Stone magazine article.
Vasquez became a household name in 2022 while the public watched her and her team win more than $10 million in damages on behalf of Depp in his defamation suit against ex-wife, actor Amber Heard. Vasquez focuses her practice on brand reputation and defamation litigation, with additional experience litigating contract disputes and business torts. She also regularly manages parallel reputation management and crisis communication issues. Vasquez is recognized as a leading litigator by Chambers, Legal 500 and Benchmark Litigation, among others. She earned her B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Southern California and her J.D. from Southwestern Law School.
Presiado is a business litigator with a distinguished track record of representing clients in complex, high-stakes lawsuits in state and federal courts, including business torts, unfair competition, fraudulent transfer claims and contract disputes. He also is an accomplished appellate lawyer having briefed and argued cases before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Court of Appeal and the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. He served on the board of directors of the Orange County Federal Bar Association and is committed to providing pro bono services to the Public Law Center. He earned his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Crawford counsels clients on a range of business disputes and government contracts, including prosecuting and defending federal bid protests before both the GAO and the Court of Federal Claims, state bid protests, debriefings, REA/claim preparation, prime/sub disputes, adverse past performance challenges, contract administration and compliance issues. He also advises clients more broadly on complex civil litigation matters and played an integral role on the Depp trial team. Crawford earned his B.A., cum laude, from Wake Forest University and his J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School.
Meyers represents a variety of clients in high-profile defamation matters and other sensitive litigation matters with reputational implications, such as lawsuits under New York's Adult Survivors Act and similar revival statutes in other states. She deftly handled Depp’s direct examination in his defamation case against his former wife. Meyers also works with fintech companies, handling cryptocurrency matters involving everything from governance disputes, breach of contract, securities and RICO claims, and related defamation and non-disparagement provisions. She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Tufts University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Moniz represents clients in lawsuits involving contract and partnership disputes, business torts, unfair competition, malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer and defamation in state and federal court, with an emphasis on brand and reputation management in sensitive or highly publicized matters. His clients include high-profile and private individuals, global companies and small businesses in the entertainment industry. Moniz earned his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, with high honors, and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
About Sheppard Mullin’s Business Trial Practice Group
Litigation has been a core part of Sheppard Mullin since 1927. Our Business Trial practice today consists of approximately 250 attorneys globally. Sheppard Mullin litigators possess exceptional trial and appellate skills, in-depth knowledge of state and federal courts at all levels and practical business judgment, all of which contribute to our consistent track record of success. Our litigators represent clients in a broad spectrum of industries such as computers and information technology, financial services, aerospace, manufacturing, entertainment, transportation, communications, pharmaceuticals, advertising, print and broadcast media, franchising, petroleum production and refining, real estate, insurance, construction, and food and beverage manufacturing, among others.