Divorce Mistake #2: Allowing your spouse to convince you to NOT hire a lawyer. If your spouse has retained an attorney, you need to find one quickly. If you do not, consider yourself an amateur playing against a professional. And no, an attorney cannot represent BOTH parties – it is unethical and creates a conflict of interest. The divorce process is adversarial by design; if your spouse is encouraging you to forego an attorney, chances are she has something to hide or something she wants, and she knows if you hire a lawyer it will be more difficult to get it.