While any legal affair is likely stressful for those involved, for the lawyers, there may be no time worse than when the job is actually done. The jury has been given the case and all you can do is wait until they give an answer, and you have no idea when that will be. When it came time for Johnny Depp’s legal team to wait for the verdict in the recent defamation case against Amber Heard, they took pretty extreme measures to remain distracted. Namely, they played Monopoly. No word on which of the versions of Monopoly was played.
Speaking with the Law & Crime Network, attorney Ben Chew explained that, since the lawyers had no idea when the verdict might come or when they’d be needed, they sat down and played a game of Monopoly to pass the time. It’s perhaps fitting. Monopoly itself has been a topic of legal issues, and is also about legal issues itself. Having said that, playing Monopoly with any group of people can be a trying experience, but remind me to be sure I never play it with a group of lawyers. Because they are apparently merciless. Chew explained…
We were so tense that one of my colleagues brought a Monopoly game, so we played Monopoly in our little breakout room. And I saw a side of some of my young colleagues that I’d never seen before, ruthlessness, an unwillingness to sell their old mentor some property.
On the one hand, I can understand why somebody had the idea to bring a Monopoly game. It’s a game that takes forever to play. Most games end long before anybody has technically won. This means that no matter how long the jury takes to make their decision, you’ll still be playing.
At the same time, Monopoly can also bring out the absolute worst in some people, as it apparently did here. People can get very into creating their financial empire and it sounds like more than one of these lawyers got pretty serious about the game. I guess if that’s the case they probably didn’t get bored with it, though if there was anybody who wasn’t that dedicated, they were probably ready to be done quickly.
Of course, like nearly every game of Monopoly that has ever been played by mortal man, this one ended without a winner. Ben Chew says that the Monopoly game just went back in the box the second they knew a verdict was back. Whatever animosity had been at the game board went away and the lawyers got serious, and also nervous. Chew continued…
The second we heard that the jury was coming in, of course, we folded up the game, and then it was, our hearts were in our mouths.
Eventually, there was very good news for Johnny Depp’s team as Depp was awarded significantly more for his defamation claim than Amber Heard was for hers. These lawyers may find themselves playing Monopoly again down the road, as Heard says she will be appealing the verdict.
