The Never-Ending Story: Britney's Legal Bills

Various attorneys ask court to approve nearly $350,000 in payments from Brit's estate

If necessary, Britney Spears can always melt down those shiny, new MTV Video Music Awards for scrap.

Another tally has been made of the comebacking pop princess' ever-rising legal tab—and it's a biggie. Spears has racked up nearly $350,000 in fees for conservatorship and litigation-related services in 2008, according to various invoices and declarations filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. (View the documents.)

First off, family attorney Laura Wasser, who billed Britney last month for $60,075, is looking for another $33,037.19 to take care of June and July.

The firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, which has been representing Jamie Spears in his conservatorship dealings, has laid a claim for a seemingly reasonable $9,749.58 for work—everything from their standard hourly rates to overnight courier service—done between Jan. 1 and July 31.

Then there's the firm of Holland & Knight, which has represented Spears' conservators in a lawsuit brought by Johnny Wright's Florida-based Wright Entertainment Group, which was suing the singer over your average financial dispute.

Defending Spears' honor from March 1 through July 31 has cost $50,807.16, according to the firm's declaration, which, along with the others, has been filed in a request for L.A. Court Commissioner Reva Goetz to approve the various transactions with Britney's estate.

Already taken care of, according to the paperwork, are the Law Offices of Julian R. Warner, who was dispatched by Jamie Spears and coconservator Andrew Wallet to investigate and negotiate a lease dispute, and court-appointed attorney Samuel Ingham, the lawyer who Britney tried to nix the conservatorship with earlier this year.

Ingham, a probate and estate attorney who was brought into the fold shortly after the conservatorship was formed on Feb. 1, was appointed to represent Spears when she was deemed unfit to hire and fire her own legal team.

After charging $400 per hour for his personal services and $225-per for his associate between Feb. 1 and Aug. 31, Ingham's fee added up to $248,727, "in view of the size of the estate, the complexity of the issue involved, the responsibilities I have assumed the results achieved to date and my expertise in this highly specialized area of law."

—Additional reporting by Matt Donnelly