Jennifer Robinson: Meet the high-profile Australian lawyer who counts the Clooneys as friends

You may recognise this lady........



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[size=34]Meet the high-profile Australian lawyer joining Amber Heard in court every day - who counts the Clooneys as friends and even rubs shoulders with Prince Charles[/size]

• Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson is Amber Heard's barrister
  
  
• She made headlines this week over her appearance at Johnny Depp's libel case 
  
  
• But the 39-year-old, from Berry, NSW, already mingled in high profile circles 
  
  
• Ms Robinson is best friends with Amal Clooney and represents Julian Assange
  
  
• Depp is suing the newspaper over an article suggesting he was a 'wife beater'
  
  

By TITA SMITH FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and VIVEK CHAUDHARY and JESSICA GREEN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:26 EDT, 11 July 2020 | UPDATED: 19:51 EDT, 11 July 2020

     


Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson mingles in high profile circles.
She calls Amal Clooney her best friend and was spotted rubbing shoulders with Prince Charles at an exclusive charity event in London before the COVID-19 outbreak took hold.
But it was the 39-year-old's turn in the spotlight this week, making international headlines standing as Amber Heard's barrister during the Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sun newspaper in London.   

Ms Robinson was pictured accompanying Depp's ex-wife into court, where the Pirates of the Carribean star is suing the newspaper over a 2018 article that suggested he was a 'wife beater'.
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Jennifer Robinson, 39, made headlines this week over her role as Amber Heard's barrister in Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sun newspaper in London. She is pictured during a hearing for Julian Assange in 2019
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Ms Robinson (centre) was pictured accompanying Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard (second from the right) into the High Court in London on Thursday. Ms Heard was also joined by her partner Bianca Butti (left) and her sister Whitney (top left)
Explicit details of the couple's turbulent marriage has dominated headlines, including claims Depp bashed Heard's head into a fridge and sent texts threatening to cut off Elon Musk's penis after suspecting they were having an affair.
In another, the model, 34, claimed her ex-husband, 57, used his severed finger to paint 'I love you' in blood on a mirror while they were temporarily based in the Gold Coast while he was filming.
Ms Robinson is part of the powerful group of women who are supporting Ms heard through the blockbuster libel trial. 


Ms Robinson came from humble beginnings in the small village Berry, south of Sydney, where her father works as a horse trainer. 
She is now a leading human rights lawyer from Doughty Street chambers who also represents Julian Assange. 
She has become one of the UK's highest profile human rights and media lawyers, working in the practice established by prominent Australian lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. 
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Ms Robinson is a close friend of Amal Clooney and attended her wedding to George in 2014, where she was asked to carry out bridesmaid duties. She arrived via Venice in a boat with fellow guest Bill Murray (pictured)
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The Australian (pictured in 2019) has appeared at the International Court of Justice and given expert evidence at the UN and in Parliament
'I am proud that women from my chambers, like Jennifer and Amal Clooney, are proving that young women can rise high in the law and overcome the bars and sexism in what used to be a male-dominated profession,' Mr Robertson told News Corp  this week.
'She is quite brilliant and has assisted me on those important cases and has done very well and is having a successful career working at my Chambers.
'She has represented the West Papua independent movement and other human rights causes.' 
Ms Robinson has appeared at the International Court of Justice and given expert evidence at the UN and in Parliament.
Her areas of expertise are free speech and civil liberties, and she regularly advises newspapers on media law.
Ms Robinson attended Amal Clooney's wedding to George in 2014, where she was asked to carry out bridesmaid duties. She arrived via Venice in a boat with fellow guest Bill Murray.
In 2017, she was seen canoodling with Jeremy Corbyn's former spin doctor Seumas Milne - with her father later telling MailOnline that his daughter was just enjoying a night out and a 'few drinks' with a friend.
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Johnny Depp pictured arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice in Strand, London, on Friday. The Pirates of the Carribean star is suing The Sun newspaper over an article suggesting he was a 'wife beater'
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Actress Amber Heard, 34, pictured above leaving the High Court in London on Friday
Her father, Terry, insisted his daughter is a 'good girl' who has been in a 'few relationships' but dismissed suggestions that she was having an affair with the married father-of-two.
In 2011 she gave an interview about her private life and described herself as 'passionate' and 'infinitely curious', and said: 'My friends would probably add, ''the eternal optimist'' or ''a bit bonkers''.'
She admitted that while being serious as a proud Australian she enjoys 'taking the p**s' and said she swears too much.
Ms Robinson also confessed that she 'partied' a lot when she was younger. She said: 'London has too much fun on offer to be stuck at your desk all day and night'.
And responding to a question about the contents of her London fridge she said: 'Nothing but a few bottles of champagne (and maybe a mouldy piece of cheese)' because she so rarely eats at home.
She was also asked: 'What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word 'law'?' and replied: 'Jude' - a reference to the British actor.
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Amber Heard is pictured above arriving at the High Court with Jennifer Robinson. It is hard to imagine Ms Wass, who defended the serial killer Rosemary West, ever walking hand in hand with a client, as Ms Robinson did with Miss Heard on the opening day of Depp’s case
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It was impossible to see Amber’s expression, or if she even glanced in her former husband’s direction, or if those glances were filled with regret or antipathy or something else. (Above, the 34-year-old actress and her 'Team Heard' arriving at the High Court; far right, her lawyer Jennifer Robinson)
Ms Robinson was mainly an observer in Heard's case, which saw Depp hit with 14 allegations of domestic violence, claims he defending during the three days of testimony.  
The newspaper, which failed to have the case thrown out of court, is relying on Heard's claims to defend their article as true.  
The actor has denied hit his former wife on several occasions, but admitted he 'accidentally' headbutted her during a fight in Los Angeles in 2015. 
The court also heard Depp allegedly threw a phone at Amber Heard and called her 'Amber Turd' after she allegedly defecated in their marital bed after a blazing row on her 30th birthday party in which he threw a champagne bottle at her.
Heard denied the claims, and suggested it may have been one of their small dogs, Pistol or Boo. 
The court was also shown photos Heard provided of her injuries, including bruises on her arms and black eyes. 
The model also alleged Depp tried to set fire to a painting Heard's former partner Taysa van Ree gave to her, that was hanging in her bedroom. 
While denying the claims, Depp has accused Heard of violence towards him, saying his finger was severed actually severed after she threw a bottle of champagne.
He said he would be frequently 'punished' if he 'broke her rules', such as whether she took his boots off or whether he put his arm around her while watching TV on the sofa.
Depp's case against The Sun is expected to continue for another two weeks.  

[size=34]How the star-studded relationship between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp fell apart amid claims of violence and abuse[/size]

Johnny Depp's high-profile libel claim against the publisher of The Sun is over allegations he was violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard during their relationship - claims the Hollywood star vehemently denies.
The pair met in around 2011 on the set of The Rum Diary, a film adaption of a novel by Depp's friend Hunter S Thompson, before they started living together in around 2012.
Here is a timeline of the key events in their relationship and the bitter legal battle that has ensued.
2013
- March 8: Depp allegedly tries to set fire to a painting by Heard's ex-partner Tasya van Ree before he is said to have attacked her for the first time, which the actor denies.
2015
- February 3: The couple marry in a private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles.
- March 3-5: The key incident in The Sun's defence, the three-day trip to Australia has been described by Heard as a 'three-day hostage situation' in which Depp was allegedly physically and verbally abusive while drinking heavily and taking drugs.
Depp denies the allegations and says Heard lost her temper after a conversation about a post-nuptial agreement.
- April 21: The couple arrive in Australia with their pet Yorkshire Terriers Boo and Pistol, which they did not declare to customs officials in Queensland. Heard was charged later with bringing the dogs into the country illegally - the charges were later dropped and the pair later recorded a bizarre video apologising for bringing their dogs to Australia.
2016
- Around May 22: The pair separated, Heard claims after an incident at their LA penthouse in which Depp allegedly became very angry and destroyed property with a bottle of champagne.
- May 23: Heard files petition for the dissolution of their marriage.
- May 27: Heard applies for a temporary domestic violence restraining order, which prevents Depp from contacting her.
- August 16: The estranged couple reach an agreement concerning the dissolution of their marriage. Heard later donates her seven million US dollar (£5.5 million) settlement to charity.
2017
- January 13: The couple are formally divorced.
2018
- April 27: The column by The Sun's executive editor Dan Wootton is published online at around 10pm. Under the headline 'Gone Potty - How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?', Mr Wootton asked if the Harry Potter author had been 'blinded by a personal friendship' with Depp.
The piece also quoted two alleged victims of disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, which Depp says was included to 'finish his career'.
- April 28: The following day, the online article is amended to remove the words 'wife beater' from the headline, which was not included in the print edition.
- June 1: Depp files claim his libel against News Group Newspapers. His written claim, filed a few weeks later, claims the article 'caused serious harm to (his) personal and professional reputation' and also caused him 'significant distress and embarrassment'.
- December 18: The Washington Post publishes an op-ed by Heard which did not mention Depp by name, but said that the actress 'became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out'.
2019
- February 27: Depp fights off a bid to halt his English legal action after The Sun applies for his claim to be 'stayed unless and until' the star confirmed in writing that he would not sue Heard if she participated in a forthcoming trial.
- March 1: Depp files a libel case against Heard in Virginia, blaming the Washington Post piece for Depp being dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise and claiming that Heard was the one who had been abusive towards him.
2020
- February 26: Johnny Depp attends the High Court in London for a preliminary hearing ahead of a trial which was due to begin the following month. The star heard NGN's barrister Adam Wolanski read out texts sent by Depp, including one from November 2013 to actor Paul Bettany, in which Depp wrote: 'Let's burn Amber.'
He also wrote: 'Let's drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead.'
- March 20: The trial, which was due to begin on March 23, is postponed due to the global coronavirus crisis. NGN's lawyers had claimed Depp wanted to delay the trial 'because he's a coward and because he knows he's going to lose', which was denied by Depp's legal team.
- April 8: Mr Justice Nicol rules that parts of Heard's evidence, relating to allegations of sexual violence, will be heard in private.
- May 13: The court gives permission for Depp's former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder - who both say Depp was 'never violent' to them - to give evidence. Heard's former personal assistant Kate James is also permitted to give evidence.
- June 25: NGN asks the court to throw out Depp's claim just two weeks before trial over the star's failure to disclose text messages of him apparently trying to buy drugs in Australia in 2015. The publisher's lawyers say Depp deliberately withheld text messages they say show him trying to obtain 'MDMA and other narcotics'.
- June 29: Mr Justice Nicol rules that Depp did breach a court order by not disclosing documents from separate libel proceedings against Heard in the US - which include the text messages. But Depp's lawyers argue that it would be 'wholly disproportionate' to strike out the actor's libel claim.
- July 2: The High Court rules Depp's claim can go ahead after granting his application for 'relief from sanctions' for the breach of a court order.
- July 4: The trial judge, Mr Justice Nicol refuses an application by Depp's lawyers to exclude Heard from court until she gives evidence.
- July 7: The three-week trial finally begins at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, with witnesses set to include Depp's former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder as well as several of Heard's friends who say they were present when Depp was abusive.