What Makes A Top Divorce Lawyer?

By Author: Vardags Solicitors
Total Articles: 2
Comment this article

I personally believe that while there are many traits and characteristics that contribute to being a top divorce lawyer, there is a certain irreducible core that in a certain sense, actually defines what it is to be a top divorce lawyer. Without this core, it could be argued, a practitioner would not be much of a divorce lawyer at all, let alone one of the best, that excels in their field. There may be other useful attributes, but these are the traits that all the best divorce lawyers share. In my opinion, that core is comprised of three seemingly disparate skills or attributes. They are:

• Negotiation & Mediation
• Financial/Business acumen
• Empathy

Let us consider them in turn. Fundamentally, any divorce is about reaching an agreement between two parties who are, sometimes (but not always) almost violently at odds with one another and who do not wish to cede any ground to the other party whatsoever. Achieving a settlement of any kind is therefore a matter of skilled negotiation not only with the other party, but occasionally with one’s own client, in order to reach a result that is acceptable ...
... for all, but most beneficial for one’s client.

Reaching such an agreement entails poring over reams of financial documents that in the biggest cases may be mind-bogglingly complex. Therefore, a top divorce lawyer must have a head for figures, and more importantly, must be able to understand the complex financial instruments in which many people now have their money tied up (particularly the wealthiest clients that a divorce lawyer in the very upper echelons of the profession will deal with).

Lastly, but perhaps most important is the necessity of being able to empathise with a client. Divorce can be a very difficult and upsetting time, and it is important that a lawyer understand this, and be able to help their client however possible. When talking to the client, a top divorce lawyer must be able to delve to the core of the problem, and really understand what the client wants from the settlement, which may not even be something explicitly stated. It is ability to connect on some level with one’s client, that for me, separates the exceptional from the merely excellent lawyers.

So to summarise, a top divorce lawyer must be a skilled negotiator that can quickly and easily comprehend the complicated financial affairs of their clients, and be able to understand and connect with their client to help them through a very difficult time.

Written as part of the Top Divorce Lawyer series for vardags.com, a series of articles that discuss various different outlooks on what being a great divorce lawyer really means.
Vardags are a firm of divorce lawyers in London that specialise in complex, substantial cases.