Britney Spears‘ lawyer, Sam Ingham, is stepping down as her court-appointed counsel. Sam officially filed the application on Tuesday, July 6, in Los Angeles, HollywoodLife has confirmed. He has also requested that the court appoints a new attorney to represent Britney in her ongoing battle to end her 13-year conservatorship.
The law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP is also named as a party of attorneys who are leaving their post as “counsel for Britney Jean Spears”, according to court docs obtained by HollywoodLife. At this time, it’s unclear if a judge has to approve the resignations.
News of Ingham’s departure comes after reports stated he was getting ready to file legal documents that asked to be dismissed as Britney’s lawyer on Tuesday morning. He decided to remove himself from the case after apparently getting upset about the statements she made, especially the one about not knowing she could request to end the conservatorship, in her headline-making hearing in front of a judge on June 23. Ingham allegedly gave Britney options to end the conservatorship regularly, but she never wanted to go through with it, according to sources who spoke to TMZ.
Sources also say that although Britney did talk to Ingham about removing her father Jamie Spears from the conservatorship, she did not want to end it completely. Ingham reportedly decided to resign after she told the judge she spoke to that he never told her she could end it, which he’s legally required to do.
Ingham’s departure from Britney’s case comes after her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, also resigned. He said the reason he was leaving was because he was told the “…Baby One More Time” singer was retiring from performing, so it wasn’t necessary for him to manage her anymore.
“It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,” Rudolph wrote, according to Deadline. “Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire. As you know, I have never been part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed. Please accept this letter as my formal resignation. I will always be incredibly proud of what we accomplished over our 25 years together. I wish Britney all the health and happiness in the world, and I’ll be there for her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been.”
After Rudolph’s departure, rumors began to surface that Jodi Montgomery, Britney’s temporary conservator of her person, was stepping down, but they were quickly denied. “Ms. Montgomery has no plans to step down as Ms. Spears’ Temporary Conservator of the Person,” she told HollywoodLife in a statement. “She remains committed to steadfastly supporting Ms. Spears in every way she can within the scope of her duties as a conservator of the person. Ms. Spears as recently as yesterday has asked Ms. Montgomery to continue to serve. Ms. Montgomery will continue to serve as a conservator for as long as Ms. Spears and the Court desire her to do so.”
A judge denied Britney’s request to remove Jamie as co-conservator on June 30. Another hearing is set for mid-July.