Lawyer says Johnny Depp hired her as consultant for defamation trial after seeing her in Making a Murderer

Kathleen Zellner represented Steven Avery

An attorney says Johnny Depp hired her as a legal consultant for his defamation trial against Amber Heard after seeing her in the series Making a Murderer.

Kathleen Zellner, an American lawyer who was featured in the Netflix show, spoke to Law & Crime after a verdict was announced in the case on Wednesday (1 June).

Ms Zellner said Mr Depp called her and left a voicemail at her office at the end of December. She said Mr Depp told her he had seen her in Making a Murderer say that she “would be the last person someone would hire if they were guilty, because you would find out about it.”

“I was struck that that’s what motivated him to contact me,” Ms Zellner added.

She said she provided “moral support” for Mr Depp and “really enjoyed getting to know him and having conversations with him”.

“It was an amazing experience, but I did come in right at the end,” she added.

Ms Zellner appeared in Making a Murderer as an attorney representing Steven Avery, the subject of the docuseries.

The Depp v Heard trial drew to a close on 1 June as the jury announced its verdict. Jurors found that Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp in three statements. They also found that Ms Heard was defamed in one of three statements highlighted in her countersuit.

Mr Depp was awarded $10.3m in damages, and Ms Heard was awarded $2m.

PA contributed to this story