Britney Drowning in Legal Bills

Britney Spears may shout “This mama is in control!” at her “Circus” concerts, but off the stage, she’s not the decision maker—and her handlers are proving expensive. “At least 17 lawyers and firms have had a hand in Spears’ personal or business matters in the 14 months since a judge determined she was not competent to manage her life and multimillion-dollar music empire herself,” the Los Angeles Times notes, and “the legal work has not come cheap.” The singer’s estate paid at least $2.7 million in lawyers’ fees and costs during the first 11 months of her conservatorship, and many of the lawyers continue to work on the case. Her divorce from ex-backup dancer Kevin Federline alone cost her $417,000. “Miss Britney Spears is being bled dry by these proceedings,” snipes an opponent.