What’s Next for Britney?

What did you recommend this client do?
We immediately addressed the issue with the client, and literally days later she started to gain some custody again. She was not an alcoholic and had never had a DUI before, so once she went through a three-month [counseling] program the judicial officer restored primary custody to our client.

And in more extreme cases, where there are repeated or bigger issues than a single DUI?
If it's a chronic drug abuser it could be two years of testing positive, or a year of [passing] drug tests. We once went through three years with the mother being addicted to prescription drugs. The father is our client, and he has sole legal and physical custody, but we were battling back and forth with drug testing and counseling for years. She went into rehab four or five times, and she'd be OK for 60 or 90 days and then would relapse in the kind of big scene like Britney.

So the Spears case might drag on for years as they continue reevaluate the situation?
Yes, of course. Because when it comes to custody of children there's no such thing as a permanent order. Until the children are 18, it's always modifiable under the laws of the state of California. And they have to be, because circumstances do change.

What happens when the problems with a parent are less severe or obvious?
If you suspect the other parent has issues with alcohol or drugs you have to call witnesses: observers, neighbors and teachers.

Are judges less likely to remove custody or access to the children from a mother than a father?
Yes, I do believe that they are. I think that this is because the child-developmental literature describes a more traditional model that mothers be the primary parent for the children. However, as kids get to be more school age that changes. And the judges in the last 10 years have been getting looser about giving the fathers overnight visits even with young babies.

Do celebrities or the very wealthy have an advantage because they can say they have staff to help them and perhaps access to the best treatment that money can buy?
No, it's the parents the court is looking at. [They are her] children, not the nanny's children, not the bodyguard's children. She's got all these resources, and it's not helping her at all.

© 2008