Britney Spears has won a small victory in her ongoing conservatorship battle, after the judge overseeing the case allowed the pop star to expand her legal team.
The Stronger singer is trying to wriggle free from the control of her father, Jamie Spears, who has been in charge of her financial and welfare affairs for 12 years, and now she has been given permission to bolster her group of representatives, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Jamie filed paperwork last week contending the petition was unnecessary, insisting expanding her team would cost her too much money, but Britney's top lawyer, Samuel Ingham, responded, "The only way to assure that Britney's voice is heard will be for her to have qualified litigation counsel available in order to place her on a level playing field with James."
Britney was not in court for the latest hearing, despite her father's lawyer, Lauriann Wright, suggesting the singer should be more present for the proceedings.
"Perhaps it would be best for Ms. Spears to appear so we all know what she's thinking," Wright said last week.
That prompted Ingham to explain his client's current mental state is that of a patient in a coma, explaining she is not able at this time to consent to a legal arrangement.
Jamie Spears has been his daughter's conservator since her very public meltdown in 2008. He stepped down from his role in September, 2019, citing poor health, and handed temporary conservatorship over to Britney's care manager Jodi Montgomery, but he resumed his duties in January.
