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Did Lindsay Lohan Really Fire Her Lawyer, Shawn Holley?

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on January 16, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Lindsay Lohan reportedly fired her longtime lawyer, Shawn Holley, on Monday, in a series of unfortunate events.

But the very next day, Lohan had apparently reneged on the firing, telling friends that she wanted Holley back, reports the Los Angeles Times.

What's going on?

Lawyer Shawn Holley was on her way to court to accept a plea deal on behalf of the actress, reports The Hollywood Gossip.

The plea deal would have allowed LiLo to partake in "lockdown rehab." Lohan was facing jail time for allegedly lying to the police when she was in a car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway last June.

The Santa Monica City Attorney's office was set to let LiLo get away with a lighter sentence, if she accepted a plea bargain. Under the terms of the plea deal, Lohan would reportedly have avoided jail time, assuming she checked into in-patient rehab for six months.

A quick primer on plea bargains: They aren't an "either/or" type of deal. It's more of a "take this or face the risk of a greater sentence." So, by not accepting a plea deal, it could mean that Lindsay Lohan would spend eight months (or more) in jail.

On the other hand, it could also mean that she could spend no time in jail, depending on how the trial and prosecution play out. In many cases, the prosecutors present a plea deal when they know they don't have a winning case.

But remember that this episode of lying to the cops isn't the only one of LiLo's legal woes. In fact, Holley has been Lohan's savior in court, coming in and rescuing her from significant legal repercussions time and time again.

LiLo's new lawyer, a guy named Mark Heller, was apparently suspended from practicing law in the 1990s for five years, reports The Hollywood Gossip. If that's true, Lohan's really taking her chances on this one. Maybe she believes that prosecutors have nothing on her. But to fire her longtime attorney on her way to court might not have been a smart move.

It's still not entirely clear what's going on with Lohan's representation. Asked about it in court on Tuesday, Shawn Holley told the judge the issue "will be nailed down," the Times reports. Holley entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Lohan, who did not appear in person.

Of course, we can be pretty certain about one thing: This likely isn't the last time we'll be seeing LiLo in the hands of the law.

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