Alex Rodriguez may be a slugger destined for the Hall of Fame, but Cynthia Rodriguez has chosen a heavy hitter of her own in her divorce lawsuit.

She has turned to Earle Lilly, a noted divorce lawyer from Houston, who over the years has been called "a teddy bear, a weasel, a piranha," and "a superhero" among other things, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lilly has had experience with Yankee sluggers in the past: He represented a woman who claimed Dave Winfield as her common-law husband and won a $1.6 million judgment

Cynthia, who filed her suit in state court in Miami, is seeking "equitable distribution" of all assets acquired during the marriage—or half of the $120 million he made during the five and a half years they were married.

Her biggest obstacle: As the lawsuit notes, the parties executed an "antenuptial agreement" on October 3, 2002, a month before their November 2 wedding, which took place in Dallas, Texas.

The suit suggests that Cynthia will seek to invalidate the prenup. And Earle Lilly succeeded in doing just that in a very high-profile case.

Lilly earned fame in 1988, when he convinced a Houston jury to award damages for "emotional terrorism" during a marriage, a verdict that was later overturned by an appeals court. But he scored another victory in that case: The jury also set aside the prenuptial agreement inked by Patti Chiles before her vows with Jerry Chiles, described in news accounts as a "wealthy Texas businessman."

Two top divorce lawyers, one from Florida and another from New York, gave their expert views on how the case will play out to Portfolio.com.

Cynthia's suit notes that the marriage is "irretrievably broken because of the husband's extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct." But this is completely irrelevant under Florida divorce law, as Florida is a "no-fault" state.

"In Florida, the courts really are not interested in marital misconduct, unless it has an impact upon the children, or unless there is a dissipation of marital assets," says A.J. Barranco, one of Miami's most prominent divorce lawyers, who is now representing Linda Bollea in her petition to divorce wrestler Hulk Hogan.

The fact that there is a prenup makes allegations of extramarital affairs "even less important," says Barranco. The court will focus on two questions, he says: "Is there a valid contract? And was it entered into under the proper circumstances? And if so, it will be binding on both of them insofar as marital assets and alimony are concerned."

At the time of Rodriguez's marriage, Scott Boras, the top baseball agent, represented the Yankee slugger. "I know that he refers his clients to the best lawyers in America," says Barranco. But he added, "We need to see the document."

As Florida is a "sunshine state," meaning under the law that all court documents are public absent extraordinary circumstances, the prenup, as well as all of Rodriguez's financial information, will come into open view.

"Generally speaking, almost all divorce cases contain financial statements and financial affidavits," Barranco says. "It's rare" that such records are sealed. "I am sure that's going to be one issue in this case."

In fact, Cynthia's suit points out, in a footnote, that the agreement "has deliberately not been attached," setting the stage for either a courtroom fight or negotiation of a quick settlement. Barranco, for one, is betting on the latter.

Ira Elegant, a Miami divorce lawyer who handled the divorce of N.B.A. star Shaquille O'Neal, has been tapped by Alex. "He is a very cerebral guy," says Barranco.

"I think this case is going to drop from sight more quickly than most of the cases because of the quality of the lawyers involved."

But Barranco also has a take based on personal experience: He met Alex Rodriguez at a dinner party for Don Shula, the former coach of the Miami Dolphins. "He was as down-to-earth as your next-door neighbor," says Barranco. His bet: Cynthia "is going to put her trust in the lawyers and they are going to handle it on a much more low-key basis."

While Barranco expects the case to go away, the legendary Raoul Felder, the Manhattan divorce lawyer, author, and media impresario, is scratching his head about Cynthia's choice to sue in Florida, where the couple has a home in Coral Gables, rather than in New York, where Rodriguez has two apartments. Under New York law, the "equitable distribution" of marital assets would take into account her husband's "celebrity status"—and all of the "intangible" assets that a brand name like A-Rod has to offer, including trademarks and promotional deals. "I am somewhat bewildered why they would forgo a suit in New York," says Felder. "Here, it could literally mean tens of millions of dollars."

It is possible that a New York judge would toss the case back to Florida, because that is where Cynthia is raising the couple's two young children.

"But certainly, I would have taken a shot at New York jurisdiction. If you lose, you are back in Florida anyway, so what is the difference?"

Still, the business of the prenup is Cynthia's greatest hurdle, says Felder.

"All this business of attacking prenups goes back to Donald Trump," he says. Ivana, his first wife, was able to nullify the prenup when she divorced him in 1990.

So A-Rod can blame the Donald for this bit of his current troubles.