Britney Spears, attorney Samuel Angham resigns from custody

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Britney Spears’ court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham III, will resign from the pop star’s guardianship case.

Ingham filed papers Tuesday, asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss him from the position of legal representative for Spears. “Samuel D. Ingham III hereby resigns as court-appointed counsel to Britney Jean Spears, Governor, effective upon appointment of a new court-appointed attorney,” said the court papers.

Ingham did not respond to Variety’s numerous requests for further comment on Tuesday.

Angham has been representing Spears throughout their 13-year run. In 2008, the court made this arrangement, with her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole guardian.

The working relationship between Ingham and Spears came into question last month when the singer gave an explosive testimony, calling her care “abusive” and speaking in court for the first time ever in her 13-year tenure.

During the 24-minute court statement, Spears mostly targeted her father, but she also told the judge that Angham had previously advised her not to file her custody claims. She asked the judge for the opportunity to choose her own lawyer, rather than having her legally appointed by the court.

Spears told the judge that she had an affair with “Sam,” calling her attorney during the hearing, and stating that they were in touch three times a week. But, Spears looked like a rogue during her blistering statement, and it turns out that the singer did not consult Ingham about her testimony, with the attorney telling the judge he wasn’t aware of what she was going to say, saying, “These are all of her words.” At the end of her testimony, Angham said that he would resign, if this was his client’s wish.

“Attorney Sam, he was too afraid for me to come forward,” Spears told the judge last month. “He told me I should keep it to myself,” she added.

Spears also told the judge that she was completely unaware that she had the option to request that her guardianship be terminated. “Ma’am, I didn’t know I could petition the guardianship to end this. I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn’t know it,” Spears told Judge Brenda Penny.

While Ingham has not responded to any of Spears’ allegations, it is the attorney’s duty to inform his client of his rights – in this case, the right to petition to terminate the contract. According to a legal expert, Spears should have been informed of her rights regularly over the course of 13 years. (Ingham has not responded to Variety’s continued requests for comment, over the past few weeks, as Spears’ case has come under intense scrutiny.)

Ahead of Spears’ hearing, the New York Times published a report, citing private legal documents, showing that Spears had been trying to end her guardianship for years, citing her father’s mismanagement and the heavy legal costs she was forced to incur by the terms of the guardianship.

In November 2020, Angham filed legal papers on Spears’ behalf, asking the court to remove her father from guardianship, stating that his pop star client “fears” her father and refuses to perform as long as her father is involved. At the time, the judge denied that request. Last week, the same judge signed papers reaffirming the position that Spears’ father would not be impeached, even though the filing was not in response to anything new that happened this year, but rather in response to a months-old request, specifically the appointment of the wealth management firm, Bessemer Trust. , as a guard co-owner of Spears, alongside her father.

Since Spears’ testimony, the players in her state and team have been in flux.

On Monday, Spears’ longtime manager Larry Rudolph quit, after 25 years with the Princess of Pop. Rudolph stated in his letter that he had not been in contact with Spears for over two years and had nothing to do with guardianship.

Last week, the Bessemer Trust, which was preparing to take on the role of assistant to maintain the star’s property and work alongside her father, withdrew from the guardianship, requesting the withdrawal “due to changing circumstances”. In a legal filing, Spears’ sobering testimony was noted, with the firm petition that they “realized that the Conservatoire objects to her continued protection and wish to end the tutelage” and “respect her wishes.”

In response to Spears’ testimony calling her father controlling and abusive, Jamie Spears has pointed the finger at caretaker, Jodi Montgomery, as he filed papers with the Los Angeles Superior Court stating that he was “concerned” about his daughter’s treatment, maintaining his innocence and continuing his position of caring for her. Despite her numerous allegations against him. Montgomery’s lawyers firmly dismissed Spears’ elder allegations.

According to an investigation by Ronan Farrow and Gia Tolentino in The New Yorker, Spears called 911 to report guardianship abuse, the night before she testified on June 23.

Nearly two weeks after Spears’ testimony where she pleaded with the judge to end her guardianship without further evaluation, papers were not filed on her behalf to petition to end guardianship. Those papers must be submitted by her lawyer, therefore, Ingham’s resignation could explain the delay.

Now, with Ingham out of the case, the next step will be for Spears to retain a new attorney, with court approval, so she can begin the termination proceedings – however, despite the change in legal representation, if her father stays on top of guardianship and objects to the termination The singer could fight a long and ongoing legal battle.

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