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Spears' Lawyer Does Not Want a Piece of Britney, Quits Child Custody Case

January 3, 2008 10:56 AM ET

Britney Spears' runaway legal train has lost another conductor, as lawyer Sorrell Trope is leaving her child custody case because of "a breakdown in communication." Trope's departure Wednesday came after yet another missed deposition by Spears, the second one she's skipped in the last month and her fifth missed deposition overall. Trope has been practicing divorce law for over fifty years. We're assuming by the thousand-word list of achievements on the Personal History page of his Web site, he's a pretty accomplished guy. And yet the mystery that is Britney is a puzzle even he cannot solve. Trope's absence leaves a void in Spears' defense team, as the singer will scurry to replace her lead council for the fourth time in the past four months, putting her on a Phil Spector-like pace to plow through every L.A. lawyer by trial's end. It's hard to imagine Britney actually sitting down and picking another lawyer, given her packed schedule of Starbucks runs, tanning beds, convenience store stops and drag races with the paparazzi. In fact, it's hard to imagine Spears just sitting still for a prolonged period of time. While Brit attempts to fit testifying into her busy schedule, one person who will be deposed this month, and who will probably show up, is former bodyguard Anthony Barretto, who claims he has firsthand knowlege that Britney has "mental problems" and almost overdosed on drugs.

UPDATE: Britney actually attended today's scheduled deposition, only to get sent home fifteen minutes later as the deposition was postponed to a later date. According to Kevin Federline's counsel, Brit was "cooperative."

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