I think you might be on to something. Renata must be a divorce lawyer's dream.
She's actually pretty much a divorce lawyer's nightmare.
Bear in mind, divorce cases are supposed to settle. They almost always do. The Fords may be willing to pay Renata to go quietly -- but if they aren't, they will be utterly intractable and horrible to negotiate with. So the case will end up in court, time-consuming, expensive, stressful court, and whoever represents Renata will be dealing with a loose cannon on the other side -- actually several of them, since I doubt Doug et al. will stay out of it.
Dennis Morris can't control Rob; I doubt any other lawyer can either. Actually, I can see Rob going through several lawyers who either get fired or quit in frustration ("breakdown of the solicitor-client relationship"), which will just delay resolution even more.
And we really have no idea what Renata is like as a person, whether
she can take advice, show up to appointments, compile financial documentation etc.
Almost all that stuff you mentioned -- the cheating, the sex workers, the assorted humiliations -- is irrelevant to Renata's case, per the Divorce Act. It'll have zero impact on her financial position and it won't help her much with custody. The violence and drug use *might* help with custody/access -- under the Children's Law Reform Act it's supposed to -- but it's not spelled out how and judges interpret the direction to "take it into account" in various ways. And if Renata has her own substance issues and parenting problems this will become a giant mud-slinging competition that she is by no means guaranteed to win. Lots of billable hours, but (a) getting paid to do something miserable is still miserable and (b) will Renata even be able to pay? She has no income of her own AFAIK and if the Fords choose to fight they will assuredly screw around with her spousal and child support.
It is a big no-no to trade financial support for custody/access to kids. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but an agreement openly made on that basis will not stand up in court, and legal arrangements re: minor children are never truly permanent.
I mean yeah,
some family lawyers love getting down in the mud and hurling insults and amping up the conflict for a big fee, but I'll venture to say most find it soul-sucking.