The fight between Larry Birkhead and his former lawyer, Debra Opri, just got a lot more heated.
The attorney recently sued Anna Nicole Smith‘s babydaddy for unpaid legal bills totaling over $600,000. However, this new report by our friends at Cops Online TMZ paints Opri as an unethical, money-hungry lawyer.
“Sources” are revealing why Larry fired Debra several months ago – because she’s seized his money and won’t let go!
In March of 2007, Birkhead was approached by NBC to appear on his TV shows – like Access Hollywood and Today – for major money.
Opri and her agent, Babette Perry (who works at the IMG Agency) were negotiating the deal for Birkhead.
We’d be a little worried if our freaking lawyer had an agent, wouldn’t U?
Trouble!
NBC agreed to pay Larry a whopping $1,050,000.  But something weird happened after the check was cut.
Although the money was negotiated for Birkhead, the first installment — $850,000 — ended up in Debra Opri’s client trust fund account. Sources say Opri refused to give Birkhead his money and that is precisely the reason Birkhead fired her.
Sources say agent Perry told NBC to send the monster check directly to Opri, who then promptly put in her trust fund account. Network sources say Birkhead was pissed and began making calls. We’re told agent Perry has defended herself by saying Opri told her that Birkhead wanted the money in the client trust fund account, but that’s not the case at all. TMZ knows Birkhead is outraged, claiming he never authorized Opri to funnel his money into her account. NBC sources say they were just following the agent’s instructions.
Network sources say Opri released $200K to Birkhead but kept $650,000. Coincidentally, after Opri was fired, she submitted a bloated bill to Birkhead for almost the exact amount — $620,492.84. The charges include fees for Opri’s publicist, dinners costing thousands of dollars and her husband’s laundry bill. Opri told Birkhead that when she sent him the bill that she would offer him a discount of $511,365.09, but only if he accepted immediately. He declined.
Awww. Poor Larry.
That money deserves to go to little Dannilynn!!!
Birkhead has consulted lawyers and may be suing Opri and others for inapprorpiately posessing his money.
Go get ’em Larry!
