Johnny Depp's Lawyer Camille Vasquez Talks Verdict 1 Year Later, Attorneys Still Text Actor 'Often' (Exclusive)
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Camille Vasquez also tells PEOPLE whether she'd write a book about the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial
Camille Vasquez, one of Johnny Depp's lawyers during his trial with Amber Heard, still keeps in touch with the actor.
One year after the verdict in the Virginia defamation trial mostly favored her client Depp, Vasquez tells PEOPLE that she and others from their legal team, including Benjamin Chew, still text with Depp, 59, "often."
"The last time I spoke to [Depp] on the phone was probably a few months ago, but we text often. There's a group of us that texts with him and we send emails, obviously congratulating him on the success that he's had in the last year. He has a big birthday coming up, so I'm sure he'll be celebrating — foot up because, as you've seen, probably, reported in the news, unfortunately our guy got a fracture in, I believe, his ankle."
Vasquez adds that she and her colleagues from the trial also plan on attending one of Depp's Hollywood Vampires tour stops in Boston later this summer.
She says the team dubbed themselves "The Black Pearl" during the trial, a nod to Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean days, and they maintain a group chat with that name.
"I'm so proud of the work we did, and it wasn't just me; this is a tremendous team with mostly associates that worked their little tail feathers off to do the job that we were able to do," says Vasquez. "We were such a team and we're still so united and we care about one another."
In December, Depp's ex-wife Heard, 37, revealed they reached a settlement and both dropped their appeals. She said of that "very difficult" decision: "I have made no admission. This is not an act of concession. There are no restrictions or gags with respect to my voice moving forward." As part of the settlement, she paid Depp $1 million, which his team said he'd donate to charity.
"Ms. Heard did pay Mr. Depp, not the other way around. I want to make that very, very clear," says Vasquez. "The judgment still stands. It will always still stand for the remainder of time. And Mr. Depp will be donating the money that Ms. Heard paid to settle the appeal to a number of charities."
And there's no other lingering issues on the matter, she says: "Case closed, and we couldn't be happier about it for him in the best possible way. And, again, the most important thing to us and to him was that the judgment would stand."
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Since the Depp trial a year ago, Vasquez has gone on to work several high-profile cases, plus she landed a gig at NBC News as a legal analyst. She is currently working on cases involving NBA player Richaun Holmes of the Sacramento Kings, and Latin pop star Gloria Trevi. In February, she won a case in court with Yellowstone star Q'orianka Kilcher. And, she says she's close to signing a famous heavyweight champion as a client too.
"I knew my life had changed," she says, looking back, "but I could never have dreamed it would be this great, that I would be able to represent some of the most interesting, wonderful clients that I have the privilege of representing."
Would she ever write a book about the highly publicized Depp v. Heard trial? Never say never — though "there's nothing in the works at the moment."
"We've thought about that. Ben and I have joked that we should write a book together, maybe about the trial. I feel like my story is maybe half written. I feel like there's still a lot left to do. While the trial was a significant portion of my career ... the real story about who I am and my path, there's still more to be written and to be done."
"I do have a title in mind," she teases. "Maybe one day."
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