Britney Spears’ dad has gotten new legal representation after being dropped by his lawyers amid concerns that the pop star’s attorney would sue them now that the conservatorship has ended, according to reports.
A source told PageSix that Britney Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has repeatedly expressed his intention to investigate and sue Jamie Spears, 69. The source also said the possible lawsuit would require Jamie to defend those accusations, which would “likely be adverse to parties in the conservatorship” — including to Holland & Knight, the law firm who represented the singer’s father.
According to the source, lead attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen told Jamie that their firm was not interested in representing him in that potential legal battle. On Thursday, Thoreen confirmed in a statement to Billboard that their firm has severed ties with Jamie.
On Tuesday, Jamie informed a California court that he hired Alex Weingarten, an attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, to replace Thoreen.
“We continue to have a good relationship, and are pleased that we have been able to help Jamie find new counsel,” Thoreen said. “I am confident that Jamie’s new counsel will continue to prove that he has always acted in Britney’s best interests every step of the way.”
However, another source told PageSix that money concerns may have played a role in the split, as Jamie is now a “suspended conservator.” However, a tipster claimed Jamie had a plan when he ended the conservatorship last month.
“They don’t want to fund this anymore because when you represent a suspended conservator it makes it much more likely that fees you’ve already obtained could be disgorged and future fees may not be paid from the estate, but rather would have to be paid from Jamie,” a source explained to PageSix.
Jamie had been his daughter’s conservator since 2008, but a California judge suspended his conservatorship on September 29. The singer initially credited the arrangement with saving her career, but she started publicly challenging the arrangement in August 2020.
In June, Britney, 39, asked the court to remove her father as a conservator and to end the conservatorship without subjecting her to an evaluation. Her petition also requested the matter be resolved in a swift manner.
The singer has called the ongoing conservatorship “abusive,” revealing in court documents that she wants to marry her boyfriend and have children, but the court-mandated arrangement has prevented her from getting a doctor’s appointment to get an IUD removed.
According to PageSix, Spears’ lawyer has not only expressed interest in investigating accusations that Jamie mismanaged the singer’s funds, but that he had his daughter secretly recorded.
An insider told the news outlet, “Communications between the lawyers on one hand and Jamie on another hand about everything, including the listening device in her bedroom, are now fair game.”
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[Featured image: James Spears, Britney Spears/Associated Press]
