Business at Cordell & Cordell, a divorce firm that focuses on father’s rights, is growing. The firm, which boasts a clientele of 98 percent men, is adding three new offices, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. Cordell previously had 15 offices in 10 Midwestern and Southern states.
“We were always representing more men than women and saw a lot of challenges guys face that women don’t,” Joseph Cordell, the firm’s founder, told the NLJ. “It is the reverse of other circumstances in our culture.”
Family law professor Charles P. Kindregran at Suffolk University Law School in Boston couldn't recall a study that supported the argument that men are at a disadvantage in divorce, support and custody proceedings, the NLJ notes.
However, Cordell told the NLJ that the perception of disadvantage among fathers can often influence client decisions in child custody matters.
“I’ve been told that when guys fight for primary custody, they succeed about as often as moms do, but the reality is most guys don’t fight for primary custody because they believe they have no prospect of success,” Cordell told the NLJ. “Guys come to us, heads hanging low about their expectations, because of what they hear at work or maybe from other lawyers.”