Debra Opri, the lawyer who supposedly (and likely) agreed to represent Larry Birkhead pro bono, is suing Birkhead for $600,000 legal bill. Opri had agreed to represent Birkhead in exchange for the publicity his custody battle with Anna Nicole Smith would give her (depending on who’s side you believe). It’s hard to believe that Birkhead would have entered into a traditional contract with a lawyer who was going to charge him the standard exorbitant rates, consider that a lot of lawyers would have loved to represent him in the publicity-generating trial. But Opri says Birkhead owes her $600,000, and is also suing Birkhead for defamation. There is a ton of animosity between the two, and following their own little case can be a little complicated.

“She sued Dannielynn’s dad for defamation Monday, claiming that he has engaged in a ‘malicious and relentless media campaign to discredit me and to destroy my reputation,’ according to a statement from Opri released to E! Online. The plaintiff [Opri] said, however, that all proceeds from the suit will go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“‘My primary concern has always been for a child named Dannielynn…It is my belief and my strong conviction that no child should be exploited in any manner,’ she said. After petitioning a judge to order Birkhead into arbitration to settle his unpaid $600,000 legal bill for the six months of services she provided him during his paternity battle with Anna Nicole Smith, Birkhead filed his own lawsuit against the Los Angeles attorney, accusing her of fraud and legal malpractice.

The Kentucky-born and L.A.-based photographer claimed that Opri, after originally agreeing to represent him pro bono in exchange for all the publicity she was going to receive from the case, amassed a list of frivolous expenses that she expected him to pay for.”

[From E! Online]

So far the judge seems to be siding with Birkhead, denying many of Opri’s motions. It seems like she’s just angry and vindictive about her departure (firing) from a case that can only be described as a media whore’s wet dream.

“Birkhead also accused Opri of hanging onto at least $800,000 of a $1 million paycheck he received in exchange for a series of media appearances following Smith’s death. The money still in Opri’s client-trust account has since been frozen and placed in an interest-bearing account, pending the conclusion of these proceedings, and she lost her bid for mediation earlier this month after L.A. Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lee ruled that her contract with Birkhead did not call for binding arbitration.

“She also failed to address her former client’s allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion, Lee said. But Opri is now suggesting that Birkhead had ulterior motives for trying to get the drop on her in court.

“‘It is clear now that Mr. Birkhead’s attempts to discredit me concerned what I knew and what might be exposed publicly…and not a legal bill,’ Opri said. ‘With the recent release of the Rita Cosby book, Blonde Ambition, Mr. Birkhead’s attacks have escalated to include false and malicious allegations that I was a source for the book.’”

[From E! Online]

It sort of sounds like she’s saying that she knew about the alleged Larry Birkhead/Howard K Stern male lovefest, or at least knew it details of it were going to be published. Apparently Rita Cosby introduced Birkhead to Opri, which seems very, very odd to me. Especially because that implies that at some point Rita Cosby and Larry Birkhead were on good enough terms that she was making legal recommendations to him, and he was listening. Very bizarre. I’m no lawyer, but I’m guessing she won’t win the lawsuit. It just seems so unlikely that Birkhead would have hired her if she planned on charging him her regular rates. I’m sure he knew the custody fight would be long and arduous and thus very expensive. He certainly wasn’t a rich man, pre-Anna Nicole Smith. Why would he agree to have a lawyer for pay when he could have a lawyer for free?