Jamie Spears hires new attorney after being suspended as Britney Spears’ conservator
By Chloe Melas, CNN
As Britney Spears prepares to return to court next month to try to bring her 13-year conservatorship to an end, her father Jamie Spears has a new lawyer.
Vivian L. Thoreen, Jamie Spears’ former attorney, announced the change in counsel in a statement to CNN on Thursday.
“We are proud of our work on behalf of Jamie Spears and stand by his and our actions,” Thoreen wrote. “We continue to have a good relationship, and are pleased that we have been able to help Jamie find new counsel. I am confident that Jamie’s new counsel will continue to prove that he has always acted in Britney’s best interests every step of the way.”
Taking Thoreen’s place is Alex M. Weingarten, a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Weingarten is a litigator, like Britney Spears’ current attorney, Mathew Rosengart.
Last month, Judge Brenda Penny suspended Jamie Spears as conservator of his daughter’s estimated $60 million dollar estate and designated a temporary replacement. Her father had overseen her finances and managed most of her personal affairs since 2009.
During the Sept. 29 hearing, Rosengart, described the elder Spears as a “cruel, toxic and abusive man.” Rosengart told CNN at the time that he plans to continue his “investigation into the financial and other abusive conduct.”
Jamie Spears has disputed the allegations of abuse.
“Mr. Spears loves his daughter Britney unconditionally. For thirteen years, he has tried to do what is in her best interests, whether as a conservator or her father,” Thoreen told CNN in a statement following last month’s hearing. “For anyone who has tried to help a family member dealing with mental health issues, they can appreciate the tremendous amount of daily worry and work this required. For Mr. Spears, this also meant biting his tongue and not responding to all the false, speculative, and unsubstantiated attacks on him by certain members of the public, media, or more recently, Britney’s own attorney.”
Britney Spears has asked the court to terminate her conservatorship. Judge Penny is expected to take up that request on Nov. 12.
The-CNN-Wire
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