NBA superstar Dwyane Wade’s estranged wife Siohvaughn Wade is now officially looking for her tenth divorce lawyer. Her ninth and most recent attorney, Marsha Fisher, filed a motion to withdraw as Siohvaughn’s counsel this week in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago). The motion apparently cited irreconcilable differences between attorney and client.

Dwyane Wade, star of the Miami Heat, filed for divorce back in November 2007. He has retained the same attorneys since the inception of the case – James Pritikin and his law firm Nadler, Pritikin & Mirabelli.

Siohvaughn has been represented by a top Chicago family law firm, Davis|Friedman. Her main attorney there was Dorene Marcus, who entered her appearance in July 2008.

In September 2008, attorney Burton Hochberg of Schiller Ducanto & Fleck entered his appearance for Mrs. Wade. The Schiller firm previously represented Juanita Jordan in her divorce from NBA legend Michael Jordan. From a review of the court’s docket entries, it appears that the Davis and Schiller firms may have both worked on the case simultaneously through the fall and early winter of 2008.

In January 2009, Michael Berger of Berger Schatz entered his appearance as counsel for Siohvaughn Wade. Berger then withdrew in May 2009 and the Davis firm began filing pleadings on behalf of Siohvaughn again.

The following month, David Stein of Stein & Stein and another attorney, John Rokacz, began serving as Siohvaughn Wade’s attorneys in the divorce action. That was number four and number five if you’re keeping track. Stein withdrew less than two months later.

In August 2009, Rosaire Nottage of Nottage and Ward became Mrs. Wade’s lawyer. By December 2009, Michael Bruck of Williams & Montgomery was serving as co-counsel for Siohvaughn as well. (Bruck is not a family law attorney but may have been involved for other civil claims raised by Siohvaughn).

The Chicago matrimonial law firm Katz & Stefani filed an entry of appearance on behalf of Siohvaughn Wade in February 2010. By mid-March, she was represented by Marsha Fisher. A month later, Nottage and Ward officially withdrew as her counsel.

She has also reportedly consulted with Miami divorce attorney Andrew Leinoff.

To be fair, one of the above-listed attorneys was only used for an appeal which was subsequently denied.

The Wade divorce has been ugly and litigious for quite some time. Siohvaughn made early allegations that Dwyane cheated on her and gave her a sexually transmitted disease. During a deposition, however, a close friend of the Wades testified that Siohvaughn said she contracted the disease from another man.

The two argued in court again early this year when Siohvaughn refused to allow Dwyane to take their eight-year-old to the NBA All-Star game weekend. Siohvaughn then sued D-Wade’s new girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union, on behalf of the two young Wade sons, claiming that Wade engaged in “extreme and outrageous conduct” (essentially, sexual foreplay) with Union in front of the children.

Wade believes the lawsuit was retaliation for his request that he be granted sole custody of the children and that the court have Siohvaughn undergo a psychiatric examination.

Earlier this month, Siohvaughn Wade was arrested for failing to appear at a mandatory court appearance in the case. She posted $10,000 bond shortly after her arrest.

A few observations based on my years of experience as a practicing divorce attorney: (1) Judges don’t issue body attachments (basically, an arrest warrant in a civil case) unless they are beyond frustrated with a witness or party to the case. The fact that the family court judge ordered Siohvaughn taken into custody suggests to me that she has been the source of continual drama and frustration in the case and that the judge felt it was time to send a message.

And (2) Parties who go through more than two or three attorneys over the course of a case are easily identifiable as difficult clients. Good divorce attorneys understand the emotion and frustration of the divorce process and usually have developed both a thick skin and kid gloves with which to handle clients. However, clients who continue to behave inappropriately and/or in direct contravention to an attorney’s recommendations are nearly impossible to represent in a professional manner. When a client goes through this many lawyers, there’s a problem.

Library Topics: divorce lawyer, Illinois family law, divorce, sole custody, adultery

See Also:

• NBA Star Dwyane Wade Confirms Pending Divorce
• D-Wade’s Divorce Getting Ugly
• Dwyane Wade Sues Estranged Wife and Her Lawyers