Angelina Jolie Legal Shakeup: Actress' Lawyer Withdraws from Custody Battle Case
Angelina Jolie has hit another bump in the road amid her bitter divorce battle with Brad Pitt.
The "Maleficent" actress has parted ways with one of her highest-paid attorneys, Priya Sopori.
Sopori is a Los Angeles-based former federal prosecutor who worked alongside Jolie's lead lawyer, Samantha DeJean.
On Tuesday, it was reported she filed a "Notice of Withdrawal of Attorney Record" on October 9, 2020, with the Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Hollywood Life.
The document doesn't state why Sopori, an experienced trial bulldog and a partner at Greenberg Glusker LLP, was withdrawing from Jolie's legal case.
However, it is unclear if the 45-year-old A-lister pulled the trigger or if it was a lawyer who decided to quit the bitter fight.
The change in her team of high-profile lawyers at this late stage of the battle only shows that Jolie fighting for what she wants has hardened.
An insider close to the "Tomb Raider" star told The Daily Mail, "Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce."
"When it comes to her kids, she won't back down."
The source added, "She's paying her legal team a fortune, so if she believes one of her lawyers needs to go, she won't hesitate to pull the trigger."
This wasn't the first time Angelina Jolie has parted ways with one of her expensive lawyers amid her long-running four-year divorce battle with Brad Pitt.
Back in 2018, Los Angeles superstar divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, stopped working for the "Girl, Interrupted" actress' legal fight against Pitt because it became too "venomous and nasty."
The lawyer, who represented other A-list stars such as Ryan Reynolds, Johnny Depp, Stevie Wonder, Ashton Kutcher, and Christina Aguilera, earned herself a reputation as a lawyer by promoting compromise between the couples and instead, share custody of their kids.
According to reports, the mom of six's attitude toward her "Ad Astra" actor husband wasn't working well with Wasser's gentle, peacemaking approach.
Once the lawyer was gone, Jolie then hired San Francisco-based lawyer Samantha DeJean, who is now the only lawyer representing Jolie in Pitt's dispute.
Pitt and Jolie have been dragging security experts, personal assistants, bodyguards, psychologists, doctors, co-stars, and many more, to give evidence in the custody trial that will be held privately.
According to The Sun, there are 21 witnesses in the legal fight over their kids, Pax (16), Zahara (15), Shiloh (14), Knox, and Vivienne (12). Their sixth child is the eldest, Maddox, but he's currently 19 years old.
One witness is Alyce LaViolette, a domestic violence expert.
Pitt has also listed his ex-wife's assistant and his wife's co-star as witnesses. This only showed that the "Ocean's 11" actor is willing to pull out all the stops to get some custody of his kids.
The former couple's custody trial started early this month.
Brad Pitt is reportedly asking for 50/50 custody to put in place "and stay in place," a source told Entertainment Tonight.
"Angelina wants to be fair when it comes to custody. She is very structured with the children," the source added.
"Brad has high hopes they can try to make it work because of the importance of co-parenting."
