Jenny Afia: who is Harry and Meghan’s lawyer, does she work for Schillings, is her husband Richard Ferrer?

Volume 2 of Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix documentary has landed, with the couple’s lawyer, Jenny Afia saying there was a “real kind of war” against Markle in the series trailer.

The final three episodes focus on the couple’s decision to step down from their roles as senior royals, with Prince Harry stating: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

Afia, who is Markle’s London based lawyer, has represented celebrity clients including Adele, Elton John and Brad Pitt. As well as appearing in the Netflix series, she has also featured in the BBC documentary The Princes and The Press and on an episode of Amol Rajan’s podcast Harry, Meghan and the Media.

So, who is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lawyer and what did she say in the Netflix documentary? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is lawyer Jenny Afia?

Afia is the Head of Legal at Schillings, specialising in entertainment and reputational law. The Cambridge graduate is ranked as a Tier 1 leader in her field by Chambers & Partners and has been inducted into the Legal 500 Hall of Fame.

As well as Markle, Afia has a string of celebrity clients including Adele, Elton John and Brad Pitt, who she represented in his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

With the Duchesses approval, Afia appeared in the BBC documentary The Princes and The Press and on an episode of Amol Rajan’s podcast Harry, Meghan and the Media, where she said: “This narrative that no-one could work for the Duchess of Sussex, that she was too difficult or demanding a boss, and that everyone had to leave, is just not true.”

What did Jenny Afia say in the Harry and Meghan documentary?

Afia was featured in the upcoming trailer for Volume 2 of the Netflix documentary. In it she said there was: “a real kind of war against Meghan,” adding: “I’ve certainly seen evidence that there was negative briefing against Harry and Meghan to suit other people’s agendas.”

The lawyer also commented on the press coverage of Markle’s father, Thomas. She said: “This barrage of negative articles about the breakdown of the relationship with her father was the final straw in a campaign of negative nasty coverage about her.”

Does she work for Schillings?

Afia is currently the Head of Legal at Schillings, specialising in entertainment and reputational law. According to her biography on Schillings’ website she is “ranked as a Tier 1 leader in her field by Chambers & Partners” and is “recognised in Billboard’s 2021 Top Music Lawyers.”

It continues: “Jenny campaigns for stronger protection for children online. As a member of the Children’s Commissioner’s Digital Task Force, Jenny rewrote social media terms and conditions so children could understand them. She was on the Steering Committee of children’s charity 5Rights, and co-authored a report with Baroness Kidron on how Big Tech’s persuasive design strategies impact children. Jenny is also on the UK advisory board for Common Sense Media and is a trustee of global youth charity, Ditch The Label, which helps children navigate issues such as bullying, mental health and relationships.”

Is her husband Richard Ferrer?

Afia doesn’t share much about her personal life online, but the lawyer is married to editor of Jewish News, Richard Ferrer. The pair sometimes reference each other on Twitter, with Afia sharing an article from Ferrer in 2019, describing it as a “Great piece by my favourite eye-candy.”

What did she say in Amol Rajan’s podcast?

Speaking to Rajan in January 2022 for his podcast Harry, Meghan and the Media, Afia said claims the Duchess was a bully “doesn’t match my experience of her”. She continued: “I think the first thing is to be really clear about what bullying is because the term gets used very, very casually. My daughter called me a bully last week when I asked her to brush her teeth, she’s seven years old. The term is used very freely and it’s a very, very damaging term as we know, particularly I think for career women.”

Afia said: “Knowing her as I do I can’t believe she would ever do that. I wasn’t there at the time but it doesn’t match my experience of her at all and I’ve seen her at very, very stressful times. That story is absolutely untrue that she is a bully.”