Frequently Asked Questions

Our firm is different from other firms in regards to focusing on men in family law and thereby having a deep understanding of the concerns and issues facing men during divorce. As you might be aware, there are not many law firms that dedicate their practices to fully understanding these issues. At Cordell & Cordell, our focus on representing men gives us our strength.

Also, many law firms do not dedicate their entire practice solely to family law like we do. Cordell & Cordell is purposely structured so each attorney is utilizing the knowledge capital of the entire firm. You are not just hiring one of our attorneys to stand by your side, but the entire firm.

Alongside our legal representation, Cordell & Cordell provides a client case center where you have 24/7 access to your case. The client portal provides secure access to our unique client features including: up-to-the-minute case information, billing history, online payment processing, and child custody and case calendars. Further, if at any point you have a concern, your Client Care Representative is there to assist you.

Each of our clients can rest assured that we are fully dedicated to their matters. That is why our firm created “The 10 Commandments of Client Care” which states what each of our clients are entitled to in terms of service. Read more about our 10 Commandments.

Cordell & Cordell was co-founded in 1990 by Joseph E. Cordell and his wife, Yvonne, as a general practice firm with a focus on men’s divorce and family law.

Mr. Cordell noticed about 98% of the firm’s clients were men, and the need for a level playing field in divorce courts sparked the idea of Cordell & Cordell focusing on representing men.

Our firm has developed the unique experience and familiarity with the male perspective as it is affected in the family law courts to allow our clients to feel comfortable that their point of view is understood and accurately represented.

Read more about the Cordell & Cordell history.

Currently, more than 40 Cordell & Cordell attorneys have earned the Super Lawyers distinction.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Lawyers are asked to nominate the best attorneys who are 40 years old or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. They are instructed to nominate lawyers they have personally observed in action — whether as opposing counsel or co-counsel, or through other firsthand courtroom observation.

We are unable to offer any legal guidance based upon contact from the website as each person’s situation is unique. This does require you to set up an initial consultation with one of our attorneys so the facts can be properly reviewed.

Your first step will be to contact our scheduling department to set up an initial consultation via phone, our contact form or through the live chat option available in the bottom right corner of your screen.

There is a fee for the initial consultation that will be quoted upon calling to schedule.

It is very difficult to predict the cost of a divorce. It all depends on the issues involved and how the opposing party is going to respond to the divorce.

However, the more contested issues (i.e., custody, property valuations, fitness of a parent) that arise will add to the cost of the divorce. The more issues that clients and the opposing party can agree on, the lower the cost of the divorce.

When discussing whether a client can afford to go through a divorce, we often explain to the client that there are highs and lows in a divorce case. At the onset of a case, fees will be quite expensive with getting the initial pleadings (petitions and answers) filed and working on getting temporary orders (dealing with possession and access to children, property issues and financials) issued.

Read The Million-Dollar Question: How Much Will My Divorce Cost? for a more detailed explanation of why it is so difficult to predict the cost of divorce, as well as some tips on how to control divorce expenses.

Clients must pay their retainers in full before any work can be done. The amount of the retainer fee varies from case to case and would require an attorney to evaluate your specific situation to determine.

There are two retainer options. The first is auto pay. Auto pay requires a credit card on file in which we charge every Monday for any work done the previous week.

The second option allows the client to pay the invoices every two weeks as they are received. The retainer is in place for the attorney to bill against and would need to stay replenished throughout the case.

The initial visit with your potential lawyer sets the tone for the divorce process. So the documents and mindset you bring into that meeting will dictate if you are going to have a successful divorce strategy. You will have the hour to address your specific questions and goals and the attorney can help put a strategy in place to help you achieve those goals.

Knowing what documents you should bring and what your expectations should be will help alleviate the anxiety and stress of your initial consultation.

What documents should I bring?

• Form of payment
• Your most current W-2 form
• Tax documents (preferably the previous three years of filings)
• Statements of retirement accounts
• Evidence of marital misconduct (journals, e-mails, pictures, social network pages, etc.)
• List of separate property
• Copies of appraisals regarding any real property that you own, such as the marital home
• Legal documents (complaints, orders of protection, petition for dissolution of marriage)

Remember, the more prepared you are with all the proper documents, the more you will get out of your initial consultation.

Read these articles to get a better idea of how to prepare yourself for an initial consultation:

• Preparing for an Initial Consultation: Part I
• Preparing for an Initial Consultation: Part II
• What to Expect from an Initial Consultation
• Consultation Preparation for Decree Modifications

Where can I read Cordell & Cordell reviews? The continuing effort of Cordell & Cordell to put clients first has led the firm to represent tens of thousands of clients while currently maintaining a 95 percent client satisfaction rate. This rating is based on clients’ satisfaction of their legal representation by Cordell & Cordell. Read Cordell & Cordell reviews on PleasedClient.com.