Britney Spears’ lawyer Samuel Ingham ‘to resign’ in wake of bombshell testimony
Britney Spears (L) and her court-appointed attorney of 13 years, Samuel Ingham. (Getty/LinkedIn)
Samuel Ingham III, the lawyer who has represented Britney Spears throughout her 13-year-long conservatorship, is to resign, sources claim.
According to TMZ, Ingham, appointed to Spears’ case by the courts in 2008, is to step down from the role in the wake of the singer’s explosive court testimony last month.
Ingham, an old-hand of the California probate system who has worked on high-profile conservatorship cases such as for Casey Kasem, will file legal paperwork Tuesday (6 July) asking to be dismissed as Spears’ lawyer, sources told the outlet.
Details of the filing will remain unknown, however, due to attorney-client confidentiality.
PinkNews has contacted Samuel Ingham for comment.
Samuel Ingham was ‘upset’ at Britney Spears’ bombshell testimony
The managing attorney, sources claimed, is “extremely upset at Britney’s statement in court […] that she never knew she could end the conservatorship”.
Indeed, during her bombshell testimony, alarms were raised about what legal counsel Ingham has offered after Britney Spears told the court: “I didn’t know I could petition the conservatorship to be ended.”
“I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn’t know that.
“My attorney says I can’t – it’s not good, I can’t let the public know anything they did to me.”
She added: “He told me I should keep it to myself, really.”
Ingham “regularly gave Britney options, including requesting that the conservatorship should end, but she never wanted to pull the plug”, the source countered.
But her testimony was the “last straw”, the source explained. His departure follows hot on the heels of Britney Spears’ talent manager of 25 years, Larry Rudolph, who abruptly resigned Monday (5 June) citing the artist’s wishes to “retire”.
Ingham, a trust and guardianship attorney, has for years acted as Spears’ vital mouthpiece in the year-long court battle she has waged to strip her father Jamie Spears from his role governing her personal and financial affairs.
It was, after all, his words that first electrified the #FreeBritney movement in August 2020 when he filed paperwork that announced Britney was launching a legal bid to remove Jamie from the complex legal arrangement.
“Without in any way waiving her right to seek termination of this conservatorship in the future,” he wrote, “Britney would like [Jodi] Montgomery’s appointment as conservator of her person to be made permanent.”
But Britney shattered her silence in June this year when she spoke publicly for the first time during a court hearing.
“These are entirely her words,” Ingham said moments before her testimony where she alleged that her decision-makers have refused to let her take out her IUD and was forced to take debilitating medication, among other startling claims.
She also noted that she and Ingham have, over the years, developed a closer working relationship, speaking some three times per week. Nevertheless, she signalled her intention to hire her own lawyer, one not appointed by the courts.
