Part of the team. Amber Heard has several lawyers working for her in the Johnny Depp defamation trial, including Virginia-based attorney Elaine Charlson Bredehoft.
The Minnesota native made headlines in May 2022 when she imitated the Oscar nominee while questioning her client on the stand. While recalling a tape played by Depp’s legal team earlier in the trial, Bredehoft briefly dropped her voice to a lower register to repeat the line, “You will not see my eyes again.”
The unexpected impression, which drew a laugh from the Pirates of the Caribbean star, quickly went viral as one of the lighter moments in an otherwise grim trial. Depp, who was married to Heard from 2015 to 2017, is suing the Aquaman actress for defamation based on a 2018 op-ed she wrote in which she claimed she was a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Heard never mentioned her ex-husband by name in the Washington Post article, but Depp claims her essay has negatively impacted his career and life. In November 2020, the Edward Scissorhands star revealed that he was asked to resign from the Fantastic Beasts series, and he has also alleged that his ex-wife’s claims caused Disney to hold off on producing a sixth Pirates movie.
During her testimony in May 2022, Heard denied that her op-ed was about her former spouse. “It’s not about Johnny. The only person who thinks it is about Johnny is Johnny. It’s about me and what happened to me,” the Magic Mike XXL star said.
In addition to Bredehoft, Heard’s legal team includes Benjamin Rottenborn, who is the lead attorney on the case, and Adam Nadelhaft. The group has faced ridicule on social media from Depp fans who have accused Heard of lying about her claims that her ex-husband abused her during their marriage.
TikTok user @Leilanidani has pointed out that Rottenborn’s firm, Woods Rogers, has been receiving negative online reviews in the wake of the trial, seemingly from people who have not employed the firm in a legal capacity. Other pro-Depp TikTok users have accused Heard’s legal team of incompetence or attempting to intentionally “throw” the trial.
When she took the stand for the first time in early May 2022, Heard reiterated her claims that Depp was abusive to her during their relationship. “I struggle to find the words on how painful this is,” she told the court. “This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything here with people that I knew — some well, some not. This is the most painful and difficult thing I’ve ever gone through for sure.”
The 21 Jump Street alum, for his part, has emphatically denied Heard’s accusations of abuse. “Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life,” he argued in April 2022.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
Keep scrolling for five things to know about Bredehoft.
After earning her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, Bredehoft went on to study law at the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. She graduated in 1984 and began practicing in Virginia and Washington, D.C. Kevin Lamarque/AP/Shutterstock
Bredehoft has tried many cases related to employment law, including some that involved race and sex-based discrimination. She's a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America, and she's published numerous papers on torts and litigation. Brendan Smialowski/AP/Shutterstock
The attorney made headlines in May 2022 when she imitated Depp's voice while questioning Heard on the stand. The actor himself cracked a smile at the moment before returning to his note-taking. Steve Helber/AP/Shutterstock
In 2006, Bredehoft contributed an essay to a book called Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Letters and Essays from the Famous and Infamous on the True Legal Definition of Guilt in America's Courtrooms, which had an introduction by the late Larry King. The book also included work by Vice President Kamala Harris and Bob Shapiro, who was one of O.J. Simpson's lawyers in his murder trial. Steve Helber/AP/Shutterstock
Before his death in 2010, Curtis Charlson consulted with his daughter's firm on "selected civil litigation matters." He was also the founding partner at a law firm in Bredehoft's home state of Minnesota. Kevin Lamarque/AP/Shutterstock
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