by Donna Gregory
for Virginia Business December 2004
At first glance,
Bruce Arkema’s
two legal specialties — commercial litigation
and divorce/domestic relations law — seem a little
at odds. But to Arkema, a founding partner of Cantor
Arkema, merging the two areas makes perfect sense. “I
think the lawyer sets the tone for divorces. To me,
divorce is like litigation. I try to approach it as
this is just another business problem we have to solve,” he
explains.
Treating a divorce
like a business transaction is one of the reasons
Arkema is so highly regarded
by his colleagues. “He doesn’t argue things
that are unnecessary. He doesn’t argue every
issue just because his client wants blood,” says
Carl Witmeyer, a family and domestic relations lawyer
with Witmeyer & Allen PLC and a judge pro temp
for Hanover and other nearby counties. “He argues
what’s important, and he’s very good at
client control.”
Witmeyer remembers
being on the opposing side of Arkema during a divorce
settlement negotiation.
Arkema’s client continually interrupted the negotiations
as the attorneys tried to divide up the couple’s
assets. “I remember him politely telling his
client to go to the other side of the room, so we could
finish the conversation,” Witmeyer says.
Arkema doesn’t fight against his
reputation as being a top divorce attorney, but he
doesn’t advertise it either. It’s not mentioned
in his professional bio. Instead he emphasizes his
concentration on commercial litigation, especially
in the construction industry. Even most of his longtime
clients often don’t realize he can hash out a
spousal settlement just as easily as he can solve a
typical business squabble. It’s only when they
mention needing a good divorce lawyer that he shares
his second specialty.
Despite the lack
of publicity, divorces account for about 25 percent
of Arkema’s caseload
at any given time. And he’s very selective about
the divorces he takes on. He steers clear of messy,
emotionally charged cases that involve issues such
as child custody or infidelity. Instead, he focuses
on divorces that entail the dissolution of business
assets. “Generally, when you deal with business
people, they understand. They’re less emotional.
I try to instill from the beginning that this is just
another business litigation. It’s no different
than a construction case where you’re fighting
over money. I try to keep the emotion out of it,” he
says.
Sometimes that’s easier said than
done, however, since divorces are naturally highly
charged even under the best of circumstances. Arkema
recalls nearing the end of a settlement in which the
only question left was the ownership of an Electrolux
vacuum cleaner. The husband had given it to his wife
as a gift, thinking that she’d appreciate a top-of-the-line
appliance that would make housework easier for her.
The wife, on the other hand, interpreted the vacuum
cleaner to mean that she needed to do a better job
cleaning her home. Even so, both parties wanted it. “The
other attorney and I agreed to buy another Electrolux,
so they could both have one,” Arkema says with
a laugh. “We each took $300 out of our own pockets
and bought them the Electrolux [just so we could settle
the case].”
Arkema happened
into domestic relations law almost by necessity.
During the 1980s, interest
rates skyrocketed and many of the construction companies
and other businesses he represented went bankrupt.
Divorce often followed. “As the economy turns
south, so do marriages,” Arkema explains. He
began taking on divorce cases as a favor to his clients
and to help out his own firm during financially troubled
times.
Today, 50 percent of the divorces he
handles still involve longtime clients who look to
him to handle other business matters.
