Media and Journalism

Jealous Much? Lawyer Takes Swing At Amal Clooney's Legal Record

A British government official is taking a pot shot at Amal Clooney.

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Looks like the green monster (no, not the one at Fenway) is striking a government office across the pond. Justice Minister, Lord Edward Faulks QC got caught talking smack about Amal Clooney’s legal career at a recent book launch, as the Daily Mail reports:

I’m sure she gets such high-profile cases and everyone wants her because she’s married to George Clooney; and by employing her they’ll give publicity to their case.

I’m sure publicity is nice, but the reality is, if she couldn’t do the job, she wouldn’t get the case. The legal field isn’t known for its sentimentality, and frankly, results talk. What a way to undermine the accomplishments of one of the most prominent female attorneys in the world.

And to recap, Clooney has a great résumé. From Legal Cheek:

Amal Clooney qualified at the New York bar some 13 years ago and then did an impressive stateside professional tour, including stints at white shoe firm Sullivan & Cromwell, the office of the special prosecutor at the UN, as well as being a New York University-sponsored clerk to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

On return to London, she was called to the English bar in 2010 and is now firmly ensconced as a junior at a marquee chambers, Doughty Street.

You know what she wasn’t most of that time? Married to George Clooney. And by “junior” it doesn’t mean she’s some low level drone reviewing documents like one might at a U.S. law firm. Even a cursory glance at her law firm bio show an impressive array of clients and (business) engagements.

Now, some commentators have pointed to the article by our friends at Legal Cheek to bolster Faulks’s undercutting comments.

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But her [Amal Clooney’s] intellectual and professional muscle — and even her base sex appeal — is nothing compared to one fact: she married a Hollywood heartthrob called George.

But their point, that Amal Clooney gets mainstream media coverage because of her husband, is distinct from Faulks’s claim that she gets legal work because of her husband.

Is Amal Clooney on the cover of People magazine because she married a well-loved and very famous actor? Of course. But, her caché is also based on her persona as an intelligent, independent, (and, yes) beautiful woman. Plenty of celebrities get married to non-actors, but they don’t usually get more than a passing media reference (see, e.g., Matt Damon’s wife). Amal Clooney has captured popular imagination in equal part because of her legal prowess. The idea of a “power couple” is rooted in our zeitgeist, making both halves of the couple shine a little brighter.

Most importantly, tabloid interest in Amal is unlikely to change a court of law’s opinion. So it’s accurate to say both that Lord Faulks’s comments are gossipy and envious and that Amal Clooney is “famous” (in part) because of who she married.

But she’s also a bad ass lawyer.

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Justice Minister: Amal Clooney gets top cases thanks to George [Daily Mail]
The Judge Rules: Amal – she’s famous for being a film star’s wife. Get over it [Legal Cheek]

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