Even if you and your spouse are divorcing amicably, you each need to retain separate counsel because you are still at odds in terms of property distribution and custody. A far better solution for more friendly, mutual divorces is mediation or collaborative law. In the former, both spouses work together under a mediator’s supervision to come up with a satisfactory divorce agreement. In the latter, both spouses hire collaborative lawyers who work together to devise a divorce agreement that satisfies both parties. Both of these alternatives usually cost less time and money than adversarial divorces.
The bottom line is that you don’t want your lawyer’s services to you to be compromised by his duties to your spouse. Your lawyer is working to get the best outcome for you; he or she can’t if there is a loyalty conflict.