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Britney's Attorneys Not Quite Home Free

Wed., Feb. 13, 2008 10:43 AM PST by Gina Serpe

Apparently, it's a lot easier to be forced out of Britney Spears' life than to leave it voluntarily.

A hearing to determine whether the singer's child-custody attorneys will be allowed to withdraw as her counsel in the ongoing legal battle has been continued to next Tuesday.

The continuation was announced after a 30-minute closed-door meeting in chambers between Spears' attorney Sorrell Trope, Kevin Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan and Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon.

None of the parties issued any comments upon exiting the courthouse, though the continuation was reportedly issued in order to ensure that an acceptable exit strategy was in place for Trope and that another legal team was in line to take over so that Spears would at no time be left sans representation.

While the hearing on the motion was originally scheduled to take place on Mar. 10, Trope appeared at court this morning in an effort to fast track the jump-ship request.

This marks the second time in as many months that the uphill-battling law firm has sought to withdraw as the beleaguered pop star's counsel, with Trope himself citing communication problems with Spears as a massive barrier to serving as her attorney.

In January, the law firm filed its first motion asking to be relieved of their duties in Spears' child-custody case on the grounds that, "There has been a breakdown in communications...making further representation of her interests impossible."

Trope and Trope withdrew the withdrawal request a few weeks later, canceling the would-be Feb. 4 hearing on the matter. The more recent ex parte motion was filed in the wake of her hospitalization at the UCLA Medical Center late last month.

While no legal representation has been confirmed as a successor to Trope, there are reports that Laura Wasser, Spears' original custody attorney who herself resigned from the high-profile post last September, may return to rep the singer in the courtroom. Speculation began after Wasser reportedly paid a visit to Spears at the UCLA psych ward.

Spears' custody battle, once the dominating force behind Britney-based headlines, has taken a backseat to hearings relating to her conservatorship. Another hearing on that matter is expected to take place Thursday afternoon.

As a result, Spears has failed to see much progress made in her bid for restoration of visitation with her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James. Currently, she is only allowed telephone contact with the boys.

With other people's children, however, she continues to exercise free reign.

On Monday evening, the 26-year-old taught an hourlong dance class to a group of six children, aged four to seven, at the Millennium Dance Complex. The participants were specially selected for the toe-tapping honor and received permission from their parents before participating.

During the class, Spears taught the kiddies choreography to classic Madonna tunes "True Blue," "Material Girl" and "Holiday" and also allowed them to freestyle. Following the class, Spears stuck around the practice space for another hour and a half, working out a routine for her forthcoming single, "Hot as Ice."

However, sources close to Spears have denied reports that her ramped-up rehearsals are a means to a road-hitting end, calling rumors that the singer may go on tour later this year completely untrue.