A global law firm that focuses on representing men in divorce cases has opened an office in Wilmington.

Cordell & Cordell, one of the largest domestic litigation firms in the world, opened its fourth North Carolina office at 1213 Culbreth Drive in Wilmington, led by attorney Stephanie Horton (pictured below).

Horton, who has been in the Raleigh office of Cordell & Cordell for a number of years, is from Wilmington. Her Wilmington connection is one of the reasons the firm decided to open an office in the Port City.

The firm also saw a demand for its services locally.

“A lot of our growth around the country starts from guys reaching out to us,” said Scott Trout, managing partner. “We started seeing a larger number of inquiries [on the firm’s websites, such as DadsDivorce.com and MensDivorce.com] with questions from the Wilmington area – ‘Do you have an office here; can you help me?’ Couple that with one of our attorneys who will be opening the office is from Wilmington, and it was just an easy decision.”

The new Wilmington office aims to allow men “to ensure their rights are protected by a firm whose mission is to protect and promote men's family and financial interests before, during and after divorce.”

Other locations in North Carolina for Cordell & Cordell are in Charlotte and Greensboro, according to a news release.

In 1990, while practicing general law, Joseph E. Cordell noticed the challenges that faced his male clients in family law matters, the release stated.

Fighting for fathers’ rights is what motivated Cordell and his wife and co-founder, Yvonne, to focus on representing men in domestic relations matters, according to the release.

“I was galvanized by guys who were my clients and trying to get primary custody of their children. Even though they were the better parent, they still couldn’t get across the finish line in the courts,” Cordell said in the release. “The more frustrated I became, the more incentivized I was to help them.”

Cordell & Cordell has 250 attorneys in 95 offices in the U.S. and U.K. Divorce rates in both geographic areas remain around 50 percent, Trout said.