Britney Spears' court-appointed attorney, Sam Ingham III, is removing himself from the Grammy-winner’s conservatorship.
Ingham filed pleadings this week requesting that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Penny allow him to withdraw as Spears’ attorney of record, according to media reports.
“He wants to get off the case and I can understand why because the longer he stays on, the more likelihood there's going to be an investigation into his alleged misdeeds or omissions,” said Tom Coleman, attorney and founder of the Disability and Guardianship Project in Palm Springs, which monitors the conservatorship system statewide for abuses, neglect, and exploitation.
Spears
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As previously reported in the Southern California Record, Spears stated in open court last week that Ingham III had not informed her that she could move the court to terminate the conservatorship that has left her with no right to refuse medication, contraception, or even get married.
“My hunch is that Judge Penny will grant the request and then the question will be whether the judge will impose another attorney on Britney or finally allow Britney to have the attorney of her choice,” Coleman told the Southern California Record. “It's clear that she is competent to communicate, to say what she wants, what she doesn't want, to recall past events, and to say what she wants to happen in the future. All of those things indicate that she is quite competent to retain counsel.”
Currently, probate court judges assign an attorney ad litem to senior citizens or adults with disabilities who are said to need a guardian or conservator. But if approved, pending legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 724, would allow an adult whose capacity is in question to select an attorney of their choice. SB 724 is co-sponsored by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica).
“Even if there were a test for a person’s ability or capacity to retain counsel, Britney would pass that test with flying colors based on what she said in court,” Coleman said. “However, there should be no test because case law says that if you want to terminate a conservatorship, you have the right to an attorney of your choice.”
Coleman further stated that if it were proven that Ingham engaged in ethical violations or malpractice negligence, Judge Penny could order him to repay some or all of the $7 million he has collected from Spears’ estate.
“That would fall under disgorgement of fees,” Coleman said. “He wants to avoid a Marsden hearing so that there's no mandate ordering him to repay any money. The other thing the judge can do is to refer the matter to the state bar for an investigation into Ingham and possible disciplinary action, such as disbarment.”
Under conservatorship law, a Marsden hearing is a confidential hearing in the courtroom where only the judge, the immediate court staff, the court-appointed attorney, and the litigant are present.
While Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, intervened with an interested party motion requesting that her daughter be allowed to hire her own lawyer, co-conservator Bessemer Trust and Spears’ talent manager Larry Rudolph have also asked to resign. Co-guardian, Jamie Spears, the popstar's father, is accused of enlisting $2 million of Spears' money to defend himself legally, according to media reports.
“The conservatorship is falling apart because the day of reckoning is coming,” Coleman said. “Even if the court appoints another attorney, rather than allowing Britney to choose counsel, to do anything other than terminate the conservatorship and get recourse for the wrongdoing of others in the past, would be a violation of their duty of loyalty to Britney. Any new attorney, male or female, who gets appointed knows the whole world's watching.”
Spears was prohibited from hiring attorney Adam Streisand in 2008 because medical records reported she was incapable of deciding, according to media reports.