Who

Felder is a fame-hungry divorce lawyer to the rich and famous. His celebrity client list includes Martin Scorsese, Rudy Giuliani, and David Gest.

Backstory

Reared in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Felder started his legal career at the Department of Justice. When a friend of his brother offered him $7,500 to try his divorce case, he left government work behind and turned to matrimonial law. Since then, Felder's represented a steady stream of celebrities and celebrity spouses at his firm Raoul Lionel Felder, P.C. His client list over the past two decades has included Robin Givens (against Mike Tyson), Larry Fortensky (against Elizabeth Taylor), model Luciana Morad (a paternity suit against Mick Jagger), Shaniqua Jackson (against 50 Cent), Iolanda Quinn (against Anthony Quinn), Joumana Kidd (against Jason Kidd), and Rudy Giuliani, whom Felder represented in his divorce from Donna Hanover—one of the messiest, most public splits in recent memory. More recently, Felder filed a $200 million suit against former Knick Latrell Sprewell on behalf of Candace Cabbil, the mother of four of Sprewell's children. Felder's taste for high-profile splits—and his love of the spotlight—has made him something of a celebrity in his own right.

Of note

Felder is the master of trying divorces in the court of public opinion, although his press tactics can occasionally backfire, as was the case when he was caught badmouthing Donna Hanover to reporters one Mother's Day weekend. Other divorce lawyers roll their eyes at Felder's antics, and Felder's shtick can be too much even for some of his most press-hungry clients: David Gest—who'd initially hired Felder in his split from Liza Minnelli—said he dumped Felder because the case generated too much attention. Still, many of Felder's clients are more than happy to find themselves the subject of so much attention, particularly when they're hoping the media glare will force the opposing side to settle quickly and make the problem go away.

On the side

Always striving to maximize his public exposure, Felder used to co-host Crossing the Line, a show on PBS with Borscht Belt icon Jackie Mason; he and Mason have since teamed up to write several books, including 2007's not at all acclaimed Schmucks!. Other works in Felder's oeuvre include Bare-Knuckle Negotiation and Getting Away With Murder. He periodically pops up on Fox News and other cable channels to pontificate on the celebrity breakup du jour.

Drama

Felder's sideline as an author landed him in hot water in 2007—he was accused of trotting out tired ethnic stereotypes in the book he authored with Mason. His peers on the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (of which he's chairman) called for him to step down, as did then-Governor Eliot Spitzer, but Felder refused to budge.

Personal

Felder has been married for over 45 years to Myra, who's also a divorce lawyer. (A former Broadway dancer, she met Felder when she was 21 and he helped extricate her from a contract.) Today she works with her husband at the firm and specializes in appellate cases. He and his much more low-key spouse have two grown kids, James and Rachel. The Felders live in a Sutton Place triplex and have a second home in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

Family ties

Felder's brother, who died in 1991, was the songwriter Doc Pomus, who was most famous for penning the song "This Magic Moment."