Britney Spears’ lawyer resigns in wake of star’s explosive testimony
Los Angeles, US, Jul 6 (EFE).- Britney Spears’ court-appointed lawyer Samuel Ingham resigned Tuesday, in the wake of the pop star’s explosive court testimony in which she slammed the ongoing legal conservatorship as “abusive.”
“Samuel D. Ingham III hereby resigns as court-appointed counsel for Britney Jean Spears, conservatee, effective upon the appointment of new court-appointed counsel,” the papers filed in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles read.
Ingham has been Spears’ lawyer since 2008, but his work was called into question after the pop star said in her last statement that she didn’t know she “could petition the conservatorship to end it” and that he would not let her speak out against it.
“I’ve grown with a personal relationship with Sam, my lawyer. I’ve been talking to him like three times a week now, we’ve kind of built a relationship but I haven’t really had the opportunity by my own self to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself. And I would like to be able to do that,” Britney said in her court hearing on June 23.
The judge overseeing the conservatorship, Brenda Penny, must now appoint a new lawyer or give Spears the possibility to choose one herself.
It is not the only withdrawal from the guardianship case that has come after the artist’s testimony.
The Bessemer Trust also asked to withdraw as co-conservator citing the singer’s claim of “irreparable harm to her interests.”
Spears’ manager of 25 years, Larry Rudolph, also announced his retirement after she spoke in court, saying it was “in Britney’s best interest.”
Despite Spears’ pleas, neither her lawyer nor her father, Jamie Spears, have formalized the petition to end the legal guardianship that has controlled almost all aspects of her life since 2008.
Currently, the conservatorship is divided into two parts: the financial area, controlled by Jamie Spears and the Bessemer Trust, and the personal aspect, protected by a lawyer named Jodi Montgomery.
The next court hearing will be held on July 14 without the participation of the artist. EFE
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