FIELD GUIDE ELEANOR ALTER, NEW YORK NANCY CHEMTOB, NEW YORK ROBERT S. COHEN, NEW YORK Clients: Madonna, Ethan Hawke, Mia Farrow Clients: Tory Burch, Richard Jefferson ex Clients: Michael Bloomberg, Tommy Mottola, TO Kesha Nichols, Diandra Douglas Christie Brinkley DIVORCE LAWYERS BY DOREE SHAFRIR Divorce lawyers are a peculiar breed. “At the highest level of matrimonial practice, it’s a pretty small field,” says Manhattan divorce lawyer Allen Drexel, who worked for four years for one of the giants of New York divorce law, Robert S. Cohen, and now has his own boutique firm. “You’re all repeat players against each other, sometimes in multiple cases RAOUL FELDER, NEW YORK SANDY AIN, WASHINGTON, DC GLENN C. LEWIS, WASHINGTON, DC Clients: Rudy Giuliani, Stephanie Seymour, Clients: S. Epatha Merkerson, Mike Tyson ex Clients: Steve Case, BET founder Robert Johnson in any given year. And the competitiveness inherent in the litigation Robin Givens Monica Turner, Frances Glendening process makes chummy casual interaction between divorce lawyers pretty infrequent.” In other words, in the animal kingdom of law, divorce attorneys are the lone wolves. And yet, regionally, the species does have some common traits. Read on for our findings. MARNA TUCKER, WASHINGTON, DC MARTIN HAINES, MIAMI/PALM BEACH TOM SASSER, MIAMI/PALM BEACH Clients: Georgetown basketball coach Clients: Dennis Kozlowski, former Apple CEO Clients: Tiger Woods, Jeff Gordon John Thompson, Michael Huffington John Sculley, Greg Norman ILLUSTraTIONS BY BEN VOLDMAN 80 TOWN & COUNTRY FEBRUARY 2011 81 Field Guide to Divorce Lawyers JOEL WEISSMAN, MIAMI/PALM BEACH DON SCHILLER, CHICAGO IKE VANDEN EYKEL, DALLAS SORRELL TROPE, LOS ANGELES DENNIS WASSER, LOS ANGELES LAURA WASSER, LOS ANGELES Clients: New York Yankees partner Jack Satter, Clients: Michael Jordan ex Juanita Jordan, Clients: millionaire rancher Rex Cauble ex Clients: Cary Grant, Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage Clients: Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Alec Baldwin Clients: Angelina Jolie, Christina Aguilera, Red Sox owner John Henry Robert Pritzker Josephine Cauble Spike Jonze NEW YORK their Tribeca apartment. Most recently Chem- two in court, as when he described Cook as “a WASHINGTON, DC rassed after he sued Firestone for more than Greg Norman, whose divorce dragged on for NATURAL HABITAT: NATURAL HABITAT: Upper East Side tob was in the news for taking Michael Douglas self-obsessed sex addict who spent thousands Bethesda, MD, or $500,000 in unpaid bills. Firestone counter- two years and ended up costing the golfer MIGRATORY PATTERN: The Hamptons in to court to try to get some of the proceeds from of dollars on Internet porn before he began McLean, VA sued, and the court found in his favor. Lewis $103 million—though given Norman’s net MIGRATORY PATTERN: summer months the Wall Street sequel for his ex-wife, Diandra. wooing a 17-year-old girl.” Maryland’s Eastern ended up having to pay Firestone $102,000. worth, it could have been far worse. FLOCKS WITH: BIG KILL: FEEDING GROUNDS: Maloney & Porcelli FLOCKS WITH: The Upper East Side socialite Shore in summer, Virginia horse country DC’s business elite In 2003 he extracted half of 70-year- DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: Anything with crowd RAOUL FELDER in spring and fall Bravado. old Palm Beach real estate tycoon Fred Keller’s FEEDING GROUNDS: a chauffeur DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: Bossily Raoul Felder The Palm Lewis is reportedly not shy about the fact that $60 million–dollar fortune on behalf of his MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: maternal. Chemtob, who resides in Manhattan The dapper, blustery Felder has long been at BMW 7 series his $850-per-hour rate is the highest in the area. 34-year-old wife, Rose. Tragically, Keller mur- and East Hampton, becomes familiar with her the top of the New York divorce lawyer heap— dered Rose eleven days later. MARNA TUCKER DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: ELEANOR ALTER clients’ personal lives, helping them find finan- especially when it comes to getting publicity Coldly SANDY AIN Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman cial planning, therapy, and life-coaching. (and sympathy) for his clients (and, it must Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell pragmatic. During the Norman divorce, Haines Alter is often described as the grande dame of SIGNATURE PLUMAGE: Her perfect blond be said, himself). “He’s probably the most Ain & Bank When Tucker entered the field in 1965, she was filed a motion requesting that Greg get most of New York City divorce, with a mix of celebrity mane. quote-happy divorce lawyer in town,” says Ain might be the only divorce attorney in the one of just a handful of female graduates of the assets, telling the court: “The wife did not and finance clients such as Madonna, Ethan a source. Working alongside his wife Myrna country who has gotten a shout-out from an Georgetown Law School—and one of the even teach the husband how to swing a golf club. The Hawke, and the late founder of the Dreyfus ROBERT S. COHEN (to whom he’s been married for more than 40 actor on national television. In 2006, Law & smaller number of female divorce lawyers in wife did not teach the husband how to win.” FLOCKS WITH: Fund, Jack Dreyfus. “She’s at a firm primarily Cohen Lans years), Felder’s roster of clients includes Rudy Order star S. Epatha Merkerson thanked Ain the country. The first female president of the Other lawyers. He’s the son of set up to serve corporations, not individuals, so A couple of years ago, Cohen and his wife Giuliani, Stephanie Seymour, Robin Givens, on live TV while accepting a SAG Award. (The DC Bar, Tucker has a client list that includes a superior court judge and serves on numerous her billing rate is probably a bit higher,” says a bought a $4.4 million apartment at 1 Beek- and Larry Fortensky. He has collaborated on low-profile Ain was shocked.) His merger with former Georgetown basketball coach John councils and boards. source. man Place in Manhattan—the funds for which two books with comedian Jackie Mason and, Marna Tucker (see below) protégée Rita Bank Thompson and Michael Huffington (former TOM SASSER BIG KILL: Woody Allen, who not only lost undoubtedly came in large part from the work at 71 years old, shows no sign of retiring. created the preeminent divorce law firm in DC. spouse of Arianna). BIG KILL: BIG KILL: custody of his children to Mia Farrow after she he’s done over the years for clients including BIG KILL: He won a reported $10 million for In 2003 he managed to get $6.5 mil- Won $50 million and significant Sasser, Cestero & Sasser hired Alter but was forced to pay her legal fees. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Givens in her 1989 divorce from Mike Tyson lion in future earnings from a then-broke Mike real estate for Gloria Haft in her divorce from The denizens of Palm Beach don’t like to kiss MORTAL ENEMY: Christie Brinkley, who had financier Henry Kravis, music mogul Tommy and then went on to sue the boxer for $125 mil- Tyson for ex-wife Monica Turner. Herbert Haft. and tell, and that’s why they turn to the fa- DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: MORTAL ENEMY: used Alter for two previous divorces but fired Mottola, James Gandolfini, and Christie lion more for allegedly libeling Givens; that case Discreet. Sandy Ain. As the queen of mously tight-lipped Sasser when it comes time her in the midst of her legal battles with fourth Brinkley. He’s managed to nab a lot of big- was settled for an undisclosed sum. He’s known for quietly handling the affairs of DC divorce, she has sparred with Ain, the king, to dissolve their marriages. When NASCAR husband Peter Cook. money referrals. “Cohen had a major success in MORTAL ENEMY: Longtime rival and fellow blue-chip names, including former Maryland in the Haft case and many times since. driver Jeff Gordon sought a divorce after a sev- SIGNATURE PLUMAGE: DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: No- the eighties with Henry Kravis,” says a source. Manhattan-based divorce lawyer Norman first lady Frances Glendening, Danaher Corp. Sensible strands of en-year marriage, Sasser argued that Gordon nonsense. Fame-hungry clients like Tricia Since then, “a lot of peers and intimates of Sheresky, now 82, whom Felder unsuccessfully head Steven Rales, and tycoon Herbert Haft, pearls. shouldn’t have to split the accumulated assets Walsh-Smith (who took to YouTube to air her Kravis” have become Cohen clients. sued for libel in the eighties for telling a re- whose divorce from ex-wife Gloria went on for equally because the racing star had risked his grievances against her former husband, Broad- BIG KILL: Cohen won Brinkley sole custody of porter that Felder “pretends to be a trial lawyer most of the 1990s. Washingtonian magazine life to accumulate them. He also represented way mogul Philip Smith) sometimes don’t her children with Peter Cook, as well as their when he is not.” called him “confident, trustworthy, and ethi- MIAMI/PALM BEACH Tiger Woods in his battle with Elin Nordegren. NATURAL HABITAT: mesh with Alter, who advised Walsh-Smith to shared property. DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT: Narcis- cal.” Lake Worth The 40-year-old Sasser—who joined the firm SIGNATURE PLUMAGE: MIGRATORY PATTERN: lie low. (Instead, Walsh-Smith fired Alter.) MORTAL ENEMY: Donald Trump, who had to sistic. Craves attention so much he can often be A well-groomed Bermuda during started by his father, Don—is considered one of face Cohen in his divorces from Ivana Trump found publicly opining—pro bono—about celeb mustache. high season (April to October) the fastest-rising stars in Palm Beach County.