One of the first things I tell clients is that it helps not to denigrate or disparage anyone during the divorce. But that advice only goes so far: It's not uncommon to see the marriage relationship replicated in the divorce process. How a divorce proceeds in many respects reflects the level of communication in the marriage.

Too often the divorce process gets sidetracked by petty disputes. I see it all the time. Another lawyer and I went to the mat - over our clients' insistence of having their child one extra day in the summer. It was a very unfortunate and foolish experience. As you get older, your internal engine tells you that's not what you want to be doing with your - or your client's - time. Even cases with large asset pools often bog down over property worth less than the attorney time to fight over it.

Marital assets are much more complicated today. Retirement assets are increasingly complicated: Recently we reviewed the value of so-called "phantom units" of stock that were convertible into shares of common stock - which hadn't been issued yet. There's a lot of room for subjectivity in a situation like that. But that's a challenge I enjoy.

A Pennsylvania divorce can take a long time, two, three even four years.

Fox Rothschild is really an organization of top-flight attorneys, and we compliment one another across practice areas. I think that gives our clients a level of expertise and results they can't receive at other firms.

In a sense, I serve as the Indian guide - I tell my clients I'll get them through the forest called divorce, and help prepare them for the next experience. People want to come in and talk - I'm there to listen.

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