Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Britney Owes Big Money in Custody Battle

The following italicized article is from www.eonline.com:

Who said getting back on track was cheap?

Stacy Phillips, one of the shorter-term members of Britney Spears' legal team, has let it be known that shoring up one's defenses can be downright bank-breaking.

According to a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the "Sometimes I Run" songstress owes $338,414.87 to Phillips for $700-an-hour services rendered between March and June—and there are rumors of a lawsuit in the works because Spears' camp is objecting to the hefty sum.

But that's a discount, says the attorney, who states that the tab includes "time already deducted as a courtesy," time "written off" and $75,000 that she expects to get next month. (A court commissioner earmarked that sum for Phillips in April while poring over Spears' bills.)

Phillips was dismissed before Spears' custody settlement was reached last month with the help of her recently reinstated family lawyer Laura Wasser, who broke ranks last fall but returned in time to help Spears obtain more visitation privileges with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James (although Kevin Federline still has sole physical and legal custody).

Wasser's most recent bill, encompassing two months of counsel, totals $60,075, per court documents filed on behalf of the law firms of Wasser, Cooperman & Carter and Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra.

But, because her firm has already applied Spears' $25,000 retainer fee toward her bill, she's requesting no more than half of

Why so high, you might ask?

Phillips says that Spears' conservatorship arrangement, which has gotten much of the credit for her 180-degree turn for the better over the last five months, made her case more complex.

Indeed. Attorneys for dad Jamie Spears indicated in court last week that they intend to contest his litle girls legal bills.

Meanwhile, the firm of Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps is requesting $110,000 of the $220,600 it says its owed for 402 hours of representing the conservatorship.

Source: E! Online

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