As is widely reported, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are divorcing and one of their lawyers is Laura Wasser, known for being tough during Hollywood divorce cases.
She has represented celebrities like Johnny Depp, Gwen Stefani and Kim Kardashian – serving as inspiration for Laura Dern’s wise attorney character in “Marriage Story”.
Recently, Jolie replaced Samantha Bley Dejean with more aggressive counsel for their custody battle.
Laura Wasser
Wasser is widely known for her serious legal approach and has represented celebrities like Kevin Costner and Kim Kardashian during their divorces. Wasser strongly advises her clients to settle their differences through mediation sessions rather than public court trials, where all accusations and filings become available to media coverage.
Wasser is a graduate of University of California Berkeley and Loyola Law School. She currently resides in Malibu with two young sons and serves on the board for Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law.
No one knows whether Jolie and Pitt will ever reach a final settlement of their divorce, but their custody dispute has entered a new stage. Jolie dismissed Wasser as her lead lawyer in favor of Samantha Bley Dejean to oversee their six children together; three — Maddox, Zahara and Pax were adopted along with twins Shiloh and Vivienne — have been biological.
Brangelina’s Divorce Lawyer
Celebrities often become bogged down in the details of divorce proceedings when dealing with multiple children and closely held businesses, according to New York City divorce attorney James Sexton. Although that may not necessarily be considered wrong, Sexton cautioned Business Insider that this can lead to an extended legal battle that lasts months on end.
Brangelina’s high-profile status means that any legal filing in their case becomes public record regardless of who requested for it to remain under seal.
Public hearings regarding their custody dispute have been highly charged, according to TMZ. As reported, this includes the infamous incident where Pitt allegedly took Jolie onto a plane and physically shaken her while shouting, “You’re ruining this family!” Additionally, allegations surfaced about Pitt selling his share in Chateau Miraval winery without first consulting Jolie; ultimately though they settled it outside court without legal involvement yet the attorneys continued feuding for years after settlement was agreed upon outside.
Brangelina’s Custody Lawyer
Brangelina has been embroiled in an emotionally charged custody dispute ever since she filed for divorce in 2016; their five children (Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Vivienne and Shiloh) may not yet be adults but this legal fight still continues to wriggle out.
Notably, celebrity couples like Brangelina don’t tend to face as severe financial problems during divorce proceedings as other couples do – although any money issues often become an issue during breakup. With more assets comes more complications during an attempt at separation.
Jolie’s decision to hire Samantha Bley Dejean–an attorney known for representing Johnny Depp and Kim Kardashian–may signal a change in strategy. Bley Dejean will focus on child protection issues; additionally she has experience handling custody disputes. This hiring could indicate Jolie will become more aggressive in her effort for full physical custody of their children, in which case a competent and aggressive legal advocate will be necessary to stand beside her in this battle.
Brangelina’s Child Support Lawyer
Angelina Jolie followed in the footsteps of both of her actor parents when she began acting at an early age. After appearing in several films like Hackers (1995), such as Girl, Interrupted – loosely based on true events about two women spending time in a psychiatric hospital and inspired by Jack Nicholson’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest performance – was released, she achieved her first major break as an actress in 1999 with Girl, Interrupted (based on real events).
After taking a short hiatus from acting, Jolie relaunched her career and soon after gained prominence for playing former child star Gia in 2001’s critically acclaimed movie Gia, for which she received several prestigious awards including Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.
Since his split with Brangelina, Pitt is said to have paid “easily millions” in child support payments; however, according to sources these do not cover nearly enough of their children’s expenses. Furthermore, their custody case has been plagued by lengthy negotiations regarding visitation rights and custody matters; most recently in July 2021 Jolie’s attorney successfully convinced an appellate court to disqualify Ouderkirk due to failing to disclose his business relationships with Pitt’s lawyers.
