Debra Opri Gets Hoffed
Debra Opri has learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to hassle the Hoff.
The high-profile, high-priced attorney was bounced by Pamela Bach on Monday, three days after a judge awarded David Hasselhoff custody of their two children.
Bach has rehired Mark Vincent Kaplan, her original attorney in the case, a spokesman for Kaplan confirmed to E! News.
Kaplan will be in court on Tuesday representing Bach.
Opri's spokesman would only say, "Debra has not been fired." Opri will technically remain Bach's attorney of record until the proper paperwork is completed.
On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas awarded the America's Got Talent judge sole legal custody and primary physical custody of his two teenage daughters, 14-year-old Hayley and 17-year-old Taylor.
"It was a bittersweet victory," Hasselhoff told E! News' Ryan Seacrest. "My kids just want to move on. I learned a lot from them. They go, 'Who cares?' A private moment that happens in anyone's life, and it happens to everyone, should never be exploited like that. Especially if kids are involved. They just wanted to move on. It happened, but it is part of life."
Upon exiting the courthouse after Friday's setback, Opri said: "We're feeling good. The system works."
We're guessing she's not feeling so good about now.
This is the second time in recent months that Opri has been dumped by a star client.
She originally represented Larry Birkhead in his paternity battle with Anna Nicole Smith over daughter, Dannielynn. But Birkhead replaced Opri earlier this year after she sent him a $650,000 bill that included what he claimed were some questionable charges.
Then, on June 1, he sued her for more than $1 million for allegedly defrauding him in the name of "personal aggrandizement," claiming in court documents that "Opri placed her own career desires and needs as a priority over the needs, interests and desires of her own client."
Opri has downplayed the Birkhead tiff. She says the fee squabble will be addressed in arbitration and that she "will continue to take the high road and not sling mud back at Mr. Birkhead."
However, in court papers, Opri calls Birkhead "a very demanding and high
maintenance client" and accuses him of bizarre behavior, saying she "became disturbed that Birkhead was becoming obsessed with her and that he tracked her regular
movements."
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