Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck on Tuesday, August 20, after two years of marriage
Jennifer Lopez made a bold — and likely strategic — move when she filed for divorce from Ben Affleck without using a lawyer.
“She probably is sending a message that there’s not going to be a fight,” celebrity divorce attorney Chris Melcher exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, August 21, of Lopez’s decision.
Melcher, who is a partner with the California legal firm Walzer Melcher & Yoda and is not involved in the case, revealed it was the “first time” he’s seen a “high profile person” like Lopez, 55, file for divorce and not list an attorney of record.
“I believe that this is intentional to send a message that this will not be a fight,” he reiterated, noting that in California divorce proceedings are public record, so if Lopez and Affleck, 55, do end up in a lengthy court battle, it would be thrust into the spotlight.
Melcher suggested that it would be “toxic to their brand if they were to fight in court,” which is why the lawyer believes that Lopez and Affleck would have already “worked out most of these issues before going public with the filing.”
“This could be the first step that we are seeing as the public, [but it] could actually be one of the final stages of their divorce settlement,” he continued, explaining that although Lopez filed without legal assistance, she most likely had help from an attorney along the way.
