Britney Spears’s new lawyer moved to have her father removed from the helm of her 13-year-old conservatorship, calling the arrangement toxic.
The petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, comes less than two weeks after the pop star successfully lobbied to retain her own lawyer, Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Mathew Rosengart, in place of the one who was appointed to her by the court more than a decade ago. During that hearing earlier this month, in an emotional testimony, Ms. Spears repeatedly asked Judge Brenda Penny to remove her father, James Spears, from the conservatorship immediately and to investigate him for abuse.
Mr. Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor and high-profile litigator who has represented Steven Spielberg, Sean Penn and Ben Affleck, had said he would file a petition to remove Mr. Spears as soon as possible, and said his firm would be investigating the entire conservatorship and the validity of its implementation in 2008.
In filings Monday, Mr. Rosengart asked that Jason Rubin, a certified public accountant, be named conservator of Ms. Spears’s estate. The estate includes cash assets of $2.7 million and noncash assets valued at more than $57 million, according to the filings.
Mr. Rosengart and representatives for Mr. Spears didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Spears has long said he is trying to protect his daughter’s business and takes credit for helping to rebuild her career.
