Meghan replaces ‘Johnny Depp lawyer’ in her fight with Mail on Sunday

Meghan Markle, left, and David Sherborne, right. Credit: PA

The Duchess of Sussex has decided to change the barrister in charge of her legal fight against the Mail on Sunday.David Sherborne, who has represented many high-profile figures in his legal career - most recently Johnny Depp - lost the first round in Meghan’s pre-trial hearing against the newspaper group.The Duchess’ office has confirmed she will now be represented by Justin Rushbrook QC.Mr Sherborne will no longer act for Meghan.The defeat in the pre-trial hearing, when the Duchess was forced to drop claims the newspaper had executed a persistent negative campaign against her, left Meghan with legal costs close to £70,000.The Duchess of Sussex is suing the Mail on Sunday after it published the letter she had written to her father in the months after her wedding to Prince Harry.

Meghan argues the letter she sent to her father was private and should not have been published. Credit: AP

Thomas Markle did not attend the wedding after suffering a heart attack in the days beforehand.The High Court has already been told that he and Meghan have not spoken since the wedding in May 2018.Neither Prince Harry, nor son Archie, have yet met Meghan’s father.Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex say there has been no change in approach to her legal battle with the Mail on Sunday.She is suing then for breach of privacy, copyright and data protection.Her team insists that Mr Sherborne has too many “demands on his time” and the decision was made to replace him with Mr Rushbrooke as lead counsel.The case is back in court on Monday as the two sides attempt to set a trial date, a timetable for naming witnesses and a cap on costs.