Maria Shriver Hires Laura Wasser: Celebrity Divorce Lawyer Extraordinaire

Maria Shriver has retained celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser to represent her in her split from Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Wasser, 42, a mother of two, has been nicknamed a "disso-queen" for her reputation for handling marital dissolutions for some of the entertainment industry's biggest names.

Indeed, she has represented dozens of celebrities in their divorces and custody battles, including Robyn Gibson, Kate Walsh, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, and Kiefer Sutherland. She has been featured in Elle and Vogue magazines and served as an on-set legal consultant for the movie, "Liar Liar".

In February 2011, Wasser shared advice with HuffPost Divorce about financial strategies for couples that, from her experience, go a long way towards preventing divorce. Perhaps not surprisingly, she did not touch on what to do in the event that a spouse fathers a child with a household staffer.

Sources told People magazine that Shriver hired Wasser before Schwarzenegger publicly admitted to fathering a love child. Shriver reportedly has not decided whether or not she will file for divorce.

At this time, it's unknown if Schwarzenegger or Baena have retained legal counsel.

Comments

[one1byke]

05:33 PM on 05/24/2011

Privacy is out the window, I guess. Mari Shriver's choice, though.

[lovbug]

02:54 PM on 05/23/2011

This is unforgiveable. I hope when she's done with him he's hanging by his teeth.

[frant52]

12:51 PM on 05/23/2011

My advise to Maria would be to cut all ties to this whole mess, cut your losses and protect your children.

[Red Russet]

03:45 PM on 05/22/2011

Maria, I hope you get back all the money your family has put out over the years to help that bozo husband of yours make something of himself.

[Shawn Weber]

05:10 PM on 05/21/2011

I would really hope that Ms. Shriver and Governor Schwarzenegger consider one of the many options for alternate dispute resolution when planning their divorce or separation. Their kids are obviously in pain. I hope a nasty court battle is in their future. Options like Collaborative Divorce or mediation can help them settle their issues without destroying what is left of their family. I know Ms. Shriver is likely hurting from her very public betrayal, but she should try to avoid the temptation to go nuclear. If nothing else, her kids will thank her.

[riverhouse]

07:46 PM on 05/21/2011

Don't fret. He won't go to court. Wasser will hand him his b@lls in a bag and he'll sign a settlement agreement. CA is a community property state so her inheritance is separate and not part of community property. She will get half plus whatever the judge finds in his sympathy for her and her children to add to the pot. She will go on to a bigger and better career and he'll be relegated to watching old Terminator movies on late night television with a Mildren look alike.

[harriettubman]

10:46 AM on 05/21/2011

People have to realize that Arnold and Maria were friends before getting married. If the marriage had problems I'm quite sure she still looked at the good qualities of their friendship. There's a lot of history involved with this relationship.

Plus, I don't think everything has come out about Arnold yet. Maria may feel this child may be it but I just don't think so. The man covered his tracks and well. He wanted his cake and then some....

[kvolovesart]

10:42 AM on 05/21/2011

This to me is an unforgivable betrayal...not only did he have an affair...and a kid...he kept it a secret and this woman kept working for the family...sharing in the day to day life of Maria and her kids...he just sat back and watched this...probably getting off on it...what a jerk...I would walk away and never look back...

[New Yorker]

09:01 AM on 05/21/2011

How, "Married" could the man have been to Maria Shriver if he was bangin' the maid and the new wife simultaneously ? I suspect the whole thing should be annuled. If one or both parties were too immature to make the commitment to the other needed for an actual marriage, they could have never actually been married. Obviously only one of the two made such a commitment and you need two people to have a marriage. Obviously Maria Shriver trusted a man who was unworthy of her trust.

[harriettubman]

10:47 AM on 05/21/2011

And the woman's husband worked in the house too. Where were the other staff when Arnold and the maid were in the bedroom?

[Red Russet]

03:47 PM on 05/22/2011

Maybe they were in the wine cellar - or the fitness room, or the bowling alley, or the home theater.

[gfm975]

01:18 AM on 05/21/2011

Oh my God, I really hadn't thought about the DIVORCE. Geez, can you imagine how many more bad tag lines (Ahll be back) and movies AHNOLD will be making now?

[alf514]

05:19 PM on 05/20/2011

My dyslexia made me read the headline as: "Lawyer Shrivels Up".

[globalguy]

05:09 PM on 05/20/2011

Forgive and forget Maria...

[WSAY]

07:10 PM on 05/20/2011

Forgive, yes. Never forget.

[aweissnet]

12:39 AM on 05/21/2011

Nope. She's a smart and strong lady, and I'm sure she'll plod forward, and put on the right face to the public.

Anyone so duped has to feel a really deep anger and humiliation. She won't show it, though.

[afgail]

04:58 PM on 05/20/2011

The unasked question is, How many more of his "love children" are out there?

[AlexNYC]

04:07 PM on 05/20/2011

This is beyond just because he had an affair, or even that he fathered a child. This was a irrevocable violation of trust for Maria because she not only knew the other woman, but she was living in her home for so many years. This is similar to what Mia Farrow must have felt when Woody Allen had an affair with her adopted daughter, it's a violation of both the marriage and family structure.

[Red Russet]

03:54 PM on 05/22/2011

LaDeDah! A lot of men are real jerks. The main thing for women to always remember is this: if you partner up with a guy who is not good enough for you, and time goes by and everything is moving forward, or so you think, and you don't dump him, he will ALWAYS wind up dumping YOU. Why? Who knows, but Mia and now Maria know it's true. Mia and Maria didn't get dumped per se, but what their men did amounts to the same thing. Oh, and don't forget Sandra Bullock!

[Twelve]

02:42 PM on 05/20/2011

Take him to the cleaners Maria. He deserves nothing less!!

[WSAY]

07:11 PM on 05/20/2011

How so? (Besides, California is a community property state. If anything, she will have to pay him.)

[riverhouse]

10:23 AM on 05/21/2011

Inherited money is not part of community property in CA. Community property consists of what was earned during the course of the marriage.

[robert horwitz]

02:12 PM on 05/20/2011

This story should be in a section called "News You Can't Use". Did an Alien Flying Saucer land on the White House Lawn? No! Did Godzilla step out of the ocean breathing fire while crushing hundreds of buildings and thousands of people? No! Did a politician actually speak without lying to us? No! Folks this is a Divorce Case. It's not the first one and it won't be the last one. Perhaps someone should explain to the media that this happens all the time so they can move on.

[Twelve]

02:43 PM on 05/20/2011

It may only be a divorce case but this man basically ran the state of California (albet into the ground!). He should be scrutinized.

[robert horwitz]

04:48 PM on 05/20/2011

I have lived in California twice in my life. Believe me it had been run into the ground long before he arrived on the scene. Beautiful State though.

[Red Russet]

03:56 PM on 05/22/2011

Yes, because in the basement Arnold has 50,000 signs that say: ARNOLD FOR PRESIDENT 2016.

[thalius]

09:15 PM on 05/20/2011

Robert i totally agree, this is just sicken. Enough is enough.

[robert horwitz]

10:17 AM on 05/21/2011

Thanks Bob!