Britney Spears’ Team Continues to Fall Apart as Her Court-Appointed Lawyer Resigns
Samuel Ingham submitted his resignation on Tuesday.
The people surrounding Britney Spears and her conservatorship are dropping like flies. Hours after Spears’ manager of 25 years resigned, her court-appointed lawyer Samuel Ingham submitted his petition to resign yesterday, July 6th. Ingham has been representing Spears since 2008 when her conservatorship first kicked in.
According to CNN, Ingham said, via his court filing, that his resignation, as well as the litigation team of Loeb & Loeb, whom he brought in to help, would be effective upon the designation of a new court-appointed attorney for Spears.
Ingham’s resignation throws a wrench into Spears’ plan to file a legal petition to argue for the end of her 13-year-long conservatorship, which sources have hinted Spears and Ingham were currently working on. But now that it’s clear Ingham wants out—and as soon as possible—it’s likely a petition is still in its infancy or not in the works at all.
In her June testimony in front of Los Angeles Probate Court Judge Brenda Penny, Spears spoke about her relationship with Ingham. “My lawyer, Sam, has been very scared for me to go forward because he’s saying if I speak up, I’m being overworked in that facility of that rehab place, that rehab place will sue me. He told me I should keep it to myself.”
Spears further hinted that it was Ingham who kept her in the dark about her ability to file a petition. However, it was also Ingham who worked with Spears to attempt to remove her father Jamie Spears from his control over his daughter’s finances and personal life.
“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,” Spears said. “And I would like to be able to do that.”
Under the current conservatorship rules, Spears may be halted from choosing her own attorney yet again. Another hearing is slated for July 14th, so it could be possible that Judge Penny will rule that Spears can pick her own lawyer, and the ACLU has already offered their services to help.
The New York Times reports Ingham has made nearly $3 million from working the Spears case, and Spears currently pays both him and the lawyers working against her, from her $60 million estate currently controlled by her father. Ingham’s resignation is a big setback, but it may open the door for Spears to seek help from someone who will deliver results.
