Britney to Birkhead: I Feel Your Pain

76. I also worked for Stacy at her law firm. Stacy is a brilliant, highly competent attorney, who is known as one of the 'deans' of the family law profession. Her hourly rate of $700 appropriately reflects her expertise and reputation, and potential clients know the cost of her services before they retain her. It is all too easy for those who post comments here, and who know nothing about the practice of law, the actual amount and difficulty of legal work involved, nor the fine professional reputation Stacy enjoys, to make critical unjustified comments for their own amusement. It is far better to know the facts, and make worthwhile statements based on those. I know from personal experience that Stacy would only bill for legal services that were provided. Ms. Spears is hardly the first client to ask for legal services when in dire straits, make the legal 'mess' of one's life that an attorney must strive to 'clean up,' and then not want to pay the bill.

Posted at 8:14PM on Aug 19th 2008 by I also worked for Stacy

77. I hope that the rising cost of litigation deters Larry from bringing an action against the Marshall family. Who am I kidding, he'll just have to pimp out Dannielynn a little more than usual to cover the legal bills.

Posted at 12:32AM on Aug 21st 2008 by agent zero

78. Posted at 2:16AM on Aug 19th 2008 by Typical lawyer

Hey, Typical, I have serious doubts that you really are an attorney, because you would know that the application is made for the firm's services and Stacy was the affiant to authenticate the billing sheets. Until the application and attachments are made public, you have absolutely no basis upon which to draw any conclusion about what number of hours were billed by whom, at what rate. Besides, if you were a lawyer you would know how much preparation went into the dozens of depositions and hearings that were conducted. That was the crucial period -- and the time that Brit Brit melted down, so Phillips and associates had to act much like that guy in the parade who follows the elephants and scoops up behind them.

The bottom line is that Bar rules require the engagement to be memorialized in a written agreement that sets out, clearly, all the billing rates of the members of the firm, the costs for copying, faxes, etc. Also, the firm fronts the costs for investigators and court reporters, process servers, filing fees, transcripts, and so on, and if you are the lawyer you claim to be, you know how much these cost -- court reporter is paid by the hour and the page, these depos were videotaped, so there is additional expense advanced for the certified videographer. Brit was on notice when she signed the agreement what would be charged. Sorry, Bud, but her estate is bound by the contract.

Jamie will contest it, and ultimately there will be an announcement about a "settlement" reached -- probably in the $350,000 range.

Posted at 1:17AM on Aug 21st 2008 by Don't Jump to Hasty Conclusions

79. 77. I hope that the rising cost of litigation deters Larry from bringing an action against the Marshall family. Who am I kidding, he'll just have to pimp out Dannielynn a little more than usual to cover the legal bills.

Posted at 12:32AM on Aug 21st 2008 by agent zero

______________________

Uh, agent zero, sorry to inform you, but you're a little late to the party. Remember that Supreme Court decision that was handed down in 2006? Well, Vicki Lynn Marshall, a/k/a Anna Nicole Smith, already brought litigation against a member of the Marshall family, and it continues to this day. And BTW, it was Howard Stern who filed the case. Larry doesn't have what the courts refer to as "standing" -- the right to bring a suit -- because he is not the personal representative of Vick/Anna's estate, which is the "owner" of the lawsuit.

Posted at 1:25AM on Aug 21st 2008 by Don't Jump to Hasty Conclusions

80. Don't Jump--You may be right about the specifics, but Larry insinuates that that money will be his/ Dannielynn's with disturbing regularity. The truth is that most legal analysts are saying that they'll never see a penny.

Posted at 6:08PM on Aug 21st 2008 by NoodleMonkey

81. NoodleMonkey: (Luv the moniker!!!) You are 100% correct. If Larry thinks the money is going to be his to spend, I certainly would advice not buying that Mazerati just yet. There are a lot of "ifs" -- for one, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the trial-level court with instructions. That case is not won, it's not over, and Anna Nicole's/Vicki's estate may ultimately lose. But even if the case against the old man's equally old son for interfering with an expectancy is once again decided in Anna Nicole's favor, her estate is the winner. Danni, to be sure, is her sole heir, and the estate will be held for Danni until she attains legal adulthood -- possibly longer if a trust is involved. The only money that Larry Birkhead might receive is support money that has to be spent on Danni. Howard, as trustee-presumptive, would have the deiscretion to spend the money on Danni's behalf rather than pay it to Larry. Depends on how chummy those two are ...

Posted at 4:10PM on Aug 22nd 2008 by Don't Jump to Conclusions