Buckley sues actor it represented in suit against lawyer

The lawyers Johnny Depp hired to sue his lawyers are now suing him.

Buckley LLP was representing Depp in his fraud lawsuit against his longtime former lawyer Jacob Bloom, currently scheduled for trial in October. But on Monday, Buckley filed a breach of contract claim against its former client.

According to the lawsuit, the firm played a major part in the case against Bloom, helping draft and revise the initial complaint and assisting with the planning and execution of litigation strategy throughout. Buckley also took responsibility for Depp's most significant victory in the case to date, when in August it successfully argued Depp's alleged oral agreement with Bloom was invalid. John C. Depp II v. Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP, BC680066 (L.A. Super. Filed Oct. 17, 2017)..

Their bill came to $535,697.28, of which Depp paid $187,717.39, according to the complaint. The firm withdrew from the case in January at Depp's request, claiming it was told by a representative for Depp he was working to "contract the number of law firms providing services to him."

Since making them walk the plank, Buckley claims the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star has left them high and dry.

"Defendants have acknowledged, repeatedly, that they owe the outstanding amount due [and] have never questioned the reasonability of the fees or costs billed, and have promised, repeatedly, to pay the amount due," wrote Buckley attorney John C. Redding in the complaint.

Buckley asked the court to order Depp to pay the remainder of its bill, in addition to prejudgment and post-judgment interest.

Heather L. Rosing, chairperson of the professional liability department at Klinedinst PC, said while she couldn't help but note the irony of the situation, it appears Buckley is in a better position to seek repayment than its predecessor Bloom Hergott.

The complaint references an engagement agreement signed in October 2017 requiring Depp to pay legal services with a 10% discount off its standard hourly rate. His attorneys would only be able to pursue quantum meruit for their services absent that written agreement, Rosing said, a fact his former lawyers have had to reckon with since Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry Green ruled in Depp's favor last year.

Despite the peculiarities of the case, Rosing said it "was not an uncommon dynamic" in legal malpractice actions over fee disputes. She said she's seen thousands of lawyers in similar situations.

"When we teach lawyers risk management, part of what we tell them is to always look at the string of lawyers that came before you, how many there were, are they owed money, are there fee disputes," Rosing said. "If there's a long enough string of lawyers before retention, that's a red flag."

Conversely, said legal ethics expert Diane Karpman, Depp's going to find the number of lawyers willing to represent him will continue to diminish.

"He thinks he doesn't have to pay his legal fees, and eventually he's not going to be able to hire any lawyers," Karpman said.

Critically, Karpman said, Buckley extended to Depp the right to arbitrate their dispute. That could've helped protect the feud from a public audience, Karpman said.

"But he doesn't care. He thinks he's special, he's a pirate, why should he pay it?" Karpman said. "He thinks he can always get a 50 percent discount, and eventually, he's going to get a haircut."

Ronald Rus, a partner at Brown Rudnick still listed as Depp's attorney in the Bloom case, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.