Britney Spears is still daddy's little girl, as far as the courts are concerned.
No changes were made to Jamie Spears' conservatorship status during an emergency hearing Thursday that was called barely a day after the "Gimme More" songstress was released from UCLA Medical Center's psych ward, a source close to the case tells E! News.
"Jamie is still calling the shots," the source said. Last week, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz put Jamie in charge of the troubled 26-year-old's welfare and coconservator of her estate along with attorney Andrew Wallett. On Monday, the arrangement was extended until Feb. 14.
Britney's new court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham, appeared on her behalf Thursday. Jamie was absent from the closed-door proceedings, but Wallett was there and the elder Spears was represented by attorneys Jeryll S. Cohen and Vivian Thoreen.
The official word on what went on behind the scenes: "Everything about this matter is sealed," said court spokesman Alan Parachini.
A legal expert told E! News Wednesday that if Britney is in fact challenging the conservatorship, she would need to present a petition detailing either why she's fit to handle her own affairs or explaining the reasons why so-and-so—in this case her business manager Howard Grossman and Northern Trust Bank—should take over.
While Britney has not reacted kindly to the court's decision to turn the keys to her castle over to her dad, even attempting to hire counsel to fight the ruling while she was still under medical observation, those close to the family patriarch maintain he's only interested in doing what's right for the beleaguered pop princess.
"All he wants to do is help his daughter get the help she needs to get healthy," a close friend of Jamie's tells E! News. "It is not about controlling her; it is about healing her."
After their daughter unexpectedly left the hospital Wednesday afternoon and promptly whipped up a media frenzy by hightailing it to the Beverly Hills Hotel to meet up with Adnan Ghalib and then holing up in her would-be attorney's office for an hour, Jamie and Lynne Spears expressed the utmost concern for their child's welfare.
"We are deeply concerned about our daughter's safety and vulnerability, and we believe her life is presently at risk," the parents said in a joint statement. "There are conservatorship orders in place created to protect our daughter that are being blatantly disregarded.
"We ask only that the court's orders be enforced so that a tragedy may be averted."
Attorney Adam Streisand, who met with Britney yesterday and attempted to change the terms of the conservatorship on her behalf earlier this week, will not be taking on the high-profile case at this time.
"Following that meeting, Mr. Streisand learned that the court had issued orders that prevent Ms. Spears from retaining counsel of her own choosing, and on that basis, Mr. Streisand has decided he will not represent her at this time," read a statement issued Thursday by the law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP.
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker