Wendi Murdoch Hires New Divorce Lawyer

Wendi Murdoch recently switched lawyers about a month afterRupert Murdoch surprised her with divorce papers, signaling this separationcould get messy.

Wendi, Rupert’s wife of 14 years, hired well-known New Yorktrusts and estates lawyer William D. Zabel. Wishing for more independent counsel, Wendi dumped her previous lawyer,Pamela M. Sloan, who had advised on her 1999 prenuptial agreement.  The Murdochs also executed two postnuptialagreements; however, there are still areas open for negotiation, such ascustody arrangements and child support for their 11 and 9-year-old daughters,the division of certain assets like their Fifth Avenue penthouse and yacht, aswell as the interests in the Murdoch family trust.

William D. Zabel, of Schulte Roth & Zabel, typically adviseson estate planning matters for wealthy clients like George Soros and the Lehmanfamily.  But Zabel has handled theoccasional divorce for clients such as Michael Crichton, Howard Stern, Jetsowner Robert Wood Johnson IV, former wife of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, andJane Beasley Welch, the former spouse of the former CEO of General Electric. 

See Peter Lattman& Amy Chozick, Wendi Murdoch Hires aNew Lawyer, Suggesting a Divorce May Turn Messy, The New York Times, July29, 2013.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professorof Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.