Tenuous, but very possible, Clooney/Alamuddin early connections

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This is a photograph of Eugenie Tymoshenko with Mariella Frostrup at the launch of Mariella and her husband Jason McCue's new charity, the Great Initiative, in November/December2012 at the Corinthia Hotel, London. Jason is a human rights lawyer tho not with Amal's chambers. Also there Kathy Lette.

At the time, Renee Zellwegger was there, and Twitter also reported a sighting of Our Hero. No pix


Mmm..........


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Left to right, EUGENIA TYMOSHENKO daugter of the imprisoned former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and MARIELLA FROSTRUP at The Great Initiative event in association with jewellers Boodles held at The Corinthia Hotel, London on 6th November 2012.

Interesting sleuthing pan !

Holmes, please Jo!!

Was actually looking at a bracelet the Great Initiative sell to raise funds for this women-empowering charity and came across the pix of the event promoting it........and then........I remembered a Twitter comment about His Nibs being seen going into the hotel................

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I think this refers to the event she did at Loulous for Eric Schmidt and some suggestion that they were 'close'. All very high-end stuff of course

There are multiple exits to the club, very dark inside.......Jakisic the stooge? Who Knows?


Amal Alamuddin: the human rights lawyer who has hooked George Clooney



"Amal [Alamuddin] is a friend and a lawyer with a global perspective who is not afraid to deal with corruption of power or to tackle politicised cases,” Julian Assange has exclusively told the Evening Standard. Susannah Butter and Joshi Herrmann profile the hottest human rights lawyer on Earth



As the newly engaged partner of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, Amal Alamuddin will doubtless become one of the most photographed women in the world in the coming months. But there is a photograph of the London lawyer — taken long before her romance with George Clooney began — that colleagues say shows she was already a star.



Taken in November 2012, it shows Alamuddin at the heart of the most high-profile human rights scrap of the moment — sitting alongside star QC Geoffrey Robertson and Yevgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of then imprisoned Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose release all three were fighting for. “She’s used to being in the limelight,” says her colleague and friend Mark Stephens, referring to that scene. He should know.

Stephens, the leading solicitor, hired Alamuddin on to the other high profile case of her stellar career — defending Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, against extradition to Sweden. Like the other colleagues of hers who spoke to the Standard this morning, Stephens is glowing about Clooney’s wife-to-be.

“She is a fabulously bright woman, she’s independent, and has a Rolls-Royce mind,” says Stephens, who says Alamuddin “has intersocial skills to die for.” Assange tells the Standard: “Amal is a friend and a lawyer with a global perspective who is not afraid to deal with corruption of power or to tackle politicised cases.”

The 36-year-old has also worked in the corridors of power. As well as the Tymoshenko and Assange cases, she was “picked” by Kofi Annan, according to Stephens — referring to her work as counsel to the UN inquiry on the use of drones in counter-terrorism operations. “She’s used to being in the limelight and doing difficult and complex — and politically tricky — cases,” says Stephens, skills that might serve her well now that the world is watching.

While her fiancé Clooney’s former flames include model Lisa Snowden, Alamuddin is said to also have experience of high profile dating. One person told the Standard this morning that she has been linked with Eric Schmidt, director of Google. The source says she hosted a dinner for him at Mayfair nightclub LouLou’s after the launch of his book The New Digital Age in May. “They were very close,” the source says. “She organised the dinner and is very smooth, a great hostess. Princess Beatrice and James Middleton were there.”

Alamuddin and Clooney began their relationship last October. They found time in their hectic schedules to go out for dinner at Berners Tavern in Fitzrovia, with Alamuddin donning some sparkly silver wedge boots for the occasion. In March, they tried the true test of being in a couple — a holiday, going to Tanzania and later on the Seychelles. When his film Monuments Men was screened at the White House with Obama in attendance, Alamuddin was on Clooney’s arm.

Her colleagues at Doughty Street Chambers told the Standard that they are “delighted at her happy news”. Chief executive Robin Jackson, said: “I understand George Clooney is involved in international humanitarian work, so I’m sure there is a connection there. Amal has been utterly wonderful since she arrived in Chambers. She brings a bright light to everything she is involved in, and I am so delighted at her happy news”.

Joint head of chambers Geoffrey Robertson QC, who has worked with Alamuddin on the Tymoshenko and Assange cases, says: “Amal Alamuddin is a brilliant and passionate defender of human rights who has put in the enormously hard work necessary to improving them. She is respected and admired by all her colleagues.”

Robertson’s wife, novelist Kathy Lette, is equally smitten. She told the Standard: “The woman is a brilliant lawyer, jaw-droppingly beautiful, perspicacious, principled, passionate about human rights, an adviser to Kofi Annan on Syria, fluent in three languages — French, Arabic and English — wise, witty, a good laugh and great fun. Hell, I’d marry her! As would every other heterosexual woman I know!”

Doughty Street chambers is said to be very understanding about its website crashing every time a picture of Alamuddin appears on celebrity sites. The chambers is used to attention. Legal Cheek editor Alex Arlidge told Your Barrister Boyfriend: “Doughty Street is the original hip human rights set … Doughty Street’s coolness remains, and to this day continues to lure glamorous barristers-to-be with a taste for do-gooding.”

Alamuddin’s family escaped from war-torn Beirut when she was young and settled in Buckinghamshire. They are part of the close knit Druze community. Her mother Baria, described as the Liz Taylor of Lebanon, is also a high achiever. She is currently foreign editor of Al Hayat newspaper and has interviewed numerous heads of state including Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro. Her father, Ramzi, is a retired preofessor of business studies at the American University of Beirut.

Alamuddin studied at Oxford and went on to the New York University School of Law. “She’s very well academically inclined,” says Stephens. A legal source says that — like most human rights lawyers, Alamuddin subsidises her pro-bono cases with more lucrative ones. 

How Alamuddin will cope in the spotlight is yet to be seen, but those who have worked with her say she has the tools to cope. “She has this incredibly strong moral compass, which helps you to get to the right answer in any case,” says Stephens, who also describes her as “very very good company”.

Women across the world might think Alamuddin has got lucky, but it sounds like the lucky one is Clooney.

Interesting thought PAN, first I thought maybe that was the charity event they suppose to met but than I saw this one was in November so it doesn't match and "jewellers Boodles" is that a charity event???? Or why did those people go there?

Human rights for the ... richests on this planet.   

Well, they are the people with the biggest number of contacts who can set up something like this for the good of women in the poorer nations of the world who have very little.........

Think about it this way. They don't have to do it


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The launch event in 2011 (same hotel)

As you know Mariella and her husband Jason McCue and children are guests every year at Villa d'Oleandr, and Jason is very good friends with His Nibs (and he himself did not come from a wealthy background)

Reading up about who she wants to defend now, my stomach is turning. That's bloodmoney she and her associates will accept. Bah !   

Atalante wrote:Reading up about who she wants to defend now, my stomach is turning. That's bloodmoney she and her associates will accept. Bah !   

Who is she planning to defend Atalante?

Herself it seems, copping a lot of sledging lately!

Pan's right about this:
As you know Mariella and her husband Jason McCue and children are guests every year at Villa d'Oleandr, and Jason is very good friends with His Nibs (and he himself did not come from a wealthy background)

Besides others in common, I still say that they started before Oct and Stacy started before stated also.

They make her sound like WonderWoman; but if she is half as nice and makes George happy and herself, I'm happy for them. She is already in my prayers that whatever is best for them both happens. I just don't know how to delete someone from my prayer list, so Stacy is still there plus family.

Ben Emmerson, QC, has been asked by the ICC to lead the defence team in al-Senussi's trial at the Hague. Amal has been asked to be part of that team.

As I understand it the team have not bene allowed access to him in a Tripoli jail prior to that....


Ben Emmerson has also be asked by the UN to lead a far-reaching enquiry into the use of drones and their effects on innocent populations. Amal has been asked to be on that team

Thanks pan....

"Just give me the facts m'am...just the facts"
Hawaii 5 0

Dragnet Joanna, Dragnet!!

"book 'em Danno" was Hawaii 5 0

Sorry Jo but unlike the rest of your photoshopping I find your avatar a tad disturbing

theminis wrote:Sorry Jo but unlike the rest of your photoshopping I find your avatar a tad disturbing

It's called cloning   

melbert wrote:Dragnet Joanna, Dragnet!!

"book 'em Danno" was Hawaii 5 0

Oh yes thanks !   

 I could hear "book 'em Danno" in my head as I wrote it !

  

CRS time again !

What I've been wondering ever since I've known about George's relationship with Amal, is when they actually met. I haven't been following it from the beginning but I recently found out that the earliest post of that Amal style blog was from may 2013. Does anyone know if they were in a relationship then already? Because most media only knew about it from september/october 2013.

Ooh and if the answer is in another thread, please tell which one because I haven't found it yet.

George said in a interview they met and were friends but he doesn't give any dates.

Codexchick I don't know either.  It's all speculation.  But I remember George's mom being interviewed right after George and Amal were engaged (April) and she was saying that she and Nick had known Amal for "almost a year".  So if George met her in September 2013 that would be about 8 months.  Assuming George's parents met her early on in the relationship.  I think he met her earlier but it's all so vague and intentionally so on George's part.  He just doesn't want to say.

Ah, but isn't it weird then, if nobody knew about it at that time, that the style blog did a first post in May 2013? How could they have known Amal? I asked that question on the blog but they didn't answer it.
But I guess we'll never know the answer to this...

I think the pictures on the blog are from 2013 but they were posted after Amal and George started dating. I don't think Nati at the blog started the blog until after the engagement. I think she has posted the pictures by the years she has found, basically pictures taken of Amal in 2013 going forward by year. I hope this makes sense.

Exactly annemarie.  Nati didn't start the blog until May 2014.  And those pictures of Amal prior to 2014 were old pics she found and posted showing the date of the event where she was spotted.

Ah, mystery solved then! Partially at least...

Just read in an interview they met at a charity fund raising event in September 2013.

annemarie wrote:Just read in an interview they met at a charity fund raising event in September 2013.

Is that a new interview with George?  If so that would be the first time he has acknowledged that.

Yes I posted the link to the interview

During the Letterman appearance, George stated that he met Amal in Lake Como. She was a friend of a friend (who introduced them). He spent a few monthe pursuing her before she agreed to go on a date with him. This is where the publicized timeline begins in September/October 2013.

Yes I watched Letterman and heard George say that.  So they met in Como.  I remember the story George told of how he came upon his lake house the first time.  His motorcycle broke down and he knocked on the door of the house to get help.  Like it was fate.  The house was for sale.  And he meets Amal in Como.  Two events that changed his life and they happened in this small town in Italy.

Codexchick wrote:What I've been wondering ever since I've known about George's relationship with Amal, is when they actually met. I haven't been following it from the beginning but I recently found out that the earliest post of that Amal style blog was from may 2013. Does anyone know if they were in a relationship then already? Because most media only knew about it from september/october 2013.

Ooh and if the answer is in another thread, please tell which one because I haven't found it yet.

No Babe it is made up like yourbarristerboyfriend.That just made up too.GOING ON 5 WEEKS! BEFORE AMAL VICTORY.Hahah  Amals Style blog lot later than date you have.Better poster than me has all info on EVERYTHING and screenshots.I was told.

Donnamarie wrote:Yes I watched Letterman and heard George say that.  So they met in Como.  I remember the story George told of how he came upon his lake house the first time.  His motorcycle broke down and he knocked on the door of the house to get help.  Like it was fate.  The house was for sale.  And he meets Amal in Como.  Two events that changed his life and they happened in this small town in Italy.

In his speech in Florence George said he met his beautiful fiancé in Italy
and that he would marry her in Italy....in Venice.

Right Joanna.  He just never said where they met in Italy.  Now we know it was Como.  I don't have to know but would  love to know under what circumstances they met.  Of course all that matters is they found each other and seem truly happy being together.