Britney Spears' chosen new lawyer agrees to represent her but they still face legal hurdle: source
LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears has reportedly settled on a new lawyer to continue as her representative in her ongoing conservatorship case.
It was reported over the weekend that the "Toxic" singer was in talks with former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to be her new attorney as she continues her fight to end her father’s conservatorship over her.
Page Six reports that Rosengart has officially agreed to represent the pop star. Citing a source close to the case, Spears was reportedly nervous about her legal fight following her previous lawyer, Samuel Ingham, resigning.
"Britney has had multiple conversations with Mathew in recent days," the source told the outlet Tuesday. "She was concerned about what was going to happen after [Samuel D. Ingham III] resigned as her lawyer, but Mathew has assured her that she will be in good hands if the judge appoints him.
"He has been keeping close tabs on her case for a while now and felt that her testimony last month was very compelling," the insider continued, adding that he plans to represent the singer in court on Wednesday.
Representatives for Rosengart did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
It sounds like both parties have made up their mind, but there is still a legal hurdle in Spears’ way of getting Rosengart on her team. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the case has gained the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union and sparked a legal debate about conservatorships. Because of her conservatorship, getting a new lawyer is not as easy for the singer as it may be for other people. During Wednesday’s hearing, a judge will have to determine what the process should look like for Spears to select her own lawyer.
Because the conservatorship arrangement that Spears is trying to get out of prohibits her from entering into a contract, a court would typically appoint a new attorney in the wake of a resignation like that of Ingham’s, THR notes.
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Still, Spears is going into her hearing in the hopes that a judge will agree to let the hotshot lawyer carry on her case going forward. Rosengart previously represented high-profile Hollywood clients such as Steven Spielberg, Sean Penn, Ben and Casey Affleck, Eddie Vedder, Soledad O'Brien, Michael Mann and NBA star Jimmy Butler.
The New York Times reported that Rosengart, 58, once served as a law clerk for former New Hampshire state judge David Souter before he was nominated to the Supreme Court. He worked at the Justice Department as a U.S. Attorney in the 1990s. Since leaving the Justice Department, he’s worked as a defense attorney and civil litigator, specifically for clients in the entertainment industry.
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