When Britney Spears sings "Piece of Me," maybe she isn't talking about celeb gossip media after all. Perhaps she means the $2.7 million piece her lawyers took.

According to court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the singer's estate has shelled out at least that in fees from February-December 2008 alone.

That's how long the conservatorship headed by father Jamie has been in effect. She may be the ringleader who calls the shots in the Circus, but not in real life.

Attempting to single-handedly keep the legal profession afloat during these difficult times, Britney is currently paying fees to a whopping 17 lawyers and firms.

How can one individual who is not charged with any crimes possibly rack up those kind of charges? Here are just some of Britney Spears' recent legal expenses:

• Cost of divorce / custody proceedings with dumbass K-Fed: $460,000
• Cost of a civil suit brought Spears by her former manager: $113,000
• Cost of Spears' driving without a valid license trial: $26,000
• Cost of dispute over mold in Spears' leased Malibu property: $7,000
• Cost of Jamie Spears' attorneys for first six months: $102,000
• Cost of a private messenger service to deliver legal docs: $4,600

Cost of sanity: priceless? After all, the pop star is doing better: "Since the initiation of the conservatorship, all aspects of Ms. Spears' life have been stabilized and continue to improve," attorney Geraldine Wyle said. No argument there.

It could get worse, though. Her legal fees from this year, considerable to say the least thanks to litigation with Sam Lutfi and Adnan Ghalib, have yet to be submitted.

But what's another few hundred grand at this point. With shows like hers, she'll earn that in no time. Click to enlarge some Britney Spears pictures from last night ...

[Photo Credits: Splash News Online]