Amber Heard's Lawyer Elaine Bredehoft Steps Down; Actress Hires New Legal Team

Amber Heard has hired a new legal team to represent her as she prepares to appeal the multimillion-dollar verdict awarded to Johnny Depp in their defamation trial.

Weeks after a Virginia jury ruled in favor of Depp in his libel lawsuit against Heard, a spokesperson for the 36-year-old actress announced Monday that she hired David L. Axelrod and Jay Ward Brown of Philadelphia-based Ballard Spahr to lead her appeal, People reported.

Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, who represented Heard in the six-week Fairfax County, Virginia, trial earlier this year, stepped down as the actress' lawyer.

Ben Rottenborn, of Virginia-based Woods Rogers and Vandeventer Black, will remain as co-counsel, according to Heard's rep.

"When it comes to protecting the fundamental right of Freedom of Speech, we look at the jury's decision — to paraphrase a famous quote — not 'as the beginning of the end, but merely the end of the beginning.' A different court warrants different representation, particularly as so much new evidence is now coming to light," a spokesperson for Heard said in a statement, according to the outlet.

In her own statement, obtained by People, Bredehoft said, "This is the perfect time to pass the baton. I have pledged to Amber and her appellate team my complete cooperation and assistance as they move forward on a path towards success."

Heard's decision to add Axelrod and Brown to her legal team was made public Monday in a court filing in the Old Dominion, according to Deadline.

The lawyers successfully defended The New York Times against Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit earlier this year.

Brown has been representing journalists, news organizations, documentary filmmakers, and other speakers in First Amendment cases for three decades, according to a press release. Axelrod, on the other hand, is a former federal prosecutor and first-chair trial lawyer who represents companies and individuals in high-stakes civil litigation, the press release stated.

"We welcome the opportunity to represent Ms. Heard in this appeal as it is a case with important First Amendment implications for every American," Axelrod and Brown said in a joint statement, according to People. "We're confident the appellate court will apply the law properly without deference to popularity, reverse the judgment against Ms. Heard, and reaffirm the fundamental principles of Freedom of Speech."

On June 1, the jury found that Heard defamed Depp in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about surviving domestic abuse and awarded the actor $10.35 million in damages. Heard, meanwhile, won one of her three defamation countersuit claims and was awarded $2 million.

Last month, Heard's lawyers filed a notice of appeal in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, claiming in a statement obtained by People that "the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment."

Depp's lawyers then filed to appeal the $2 million verdict awarded to Heard.

His attorney, Camille Vasquez, said they made the move "so that the court could have the full record."

"We are just hopeful that the court will uphold the verdict, which we think was the right verdict, and allow both parties to move on," Vasquez said on "CBS Mornings."

Since the June verdict, the "Fantastic Beasts" actor has moved on and distanced himself from their legal battle, leaving it to his lawyers. Depp performed in a series of Jeff Beck concerts, worked with the musician on a new album and recently signed a seven-figure deal to remain the face of Dior's men's fragrance Sauvage.