Who’s Laura Wasser, Britney Spears’ divorce lawyer as she splits from Sam Asghari? Hollywood’s go-to has worked with Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Kim Kardashian in the past too

Aug 23 , 2023

Laura Wasser is Hollywood’s go-to divorce lawyer. Photo: Getty Images

In 2007, the pop star hired Laura Wasser for her custody battle against ex-husband Kevin Federline – and she’s working with the lawyer again to divorce Asghari just 14 months after getting married

Wasser’s resume reads like a who’s who of celebrity splits, from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, to Kim K and Kanye West, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver

Only 14 months after pop star Britney Spears married model-fitness trainer Sam Asghari, the couple are heading to divorce court.

TMZ broke the news, reporting that the split came after the couple had a “nuclear argument”. And who is the lawyer holding Spears’ hand during what is predicted to be a contentious divorce? Laura Wasser, of course – Hollywood’s go-to lawyer whenever marriages fall apart.

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari pose at the premiere of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood in Los Angeles, US, in July 2019. Photo: Reuters

Wasser must have felt like the easy choice for Spears, according to media reports – the lawyer also represented the singer when she was battling for custody of the two sons she shares with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Wasser, who charges US$1,000 an hour, has been at the centre of some heated celebrity splits. She represented Johnny Depp during his bitter divorce from Amber Heard and Skims billionaire Kim Kardashian when she ended her marriage to Kanye West. She worked with Angelina Jolie in her long, drawn-out divorce from Brad Pitt, and Maria Shriver when she left Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So what else do we know about her?

Who’s Laura Wasser?

Laura Wasser is one of the highest-profile divorce lawyers in the US. Photo: Getty Images

The 55-year old lawyer is managing partner at Los Angeles-based Wasser, Cooperman & Mandles who’s known for her cool head, empathy and wanting to make divorce less painful and pricey. “I want to normalise it a little,” she told The New Yorker. “It’s happening, and we need to make it better.”

Wasser contends that the only people who benefit from a divorce are the lawyers, stating, “I say to clients all the time, the more you argue, the more conflict there is, the more I get paid. I drive a Porsche. I’m wearing Alaia. I’m good. Let’s work this out and get you through this,” per The New Yorker.

Laura Wasser published a book about divorce in 2014. Photo: Getty Images

In 2014, she published the book It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way: How to Divorce Without Destroying Your Family or Bankrupting Yourself. Four years later, she followed up with her online divorce service It’s Over Easy, which was subsequently acquired by Divorce.com, whose focus is to guide people through a low-conflict divorce. Wasser is the venture’s “chief of divorce evolution”.