Alexander French
North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law | Partner
Alexander French is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and Partner with McIlveen Family Law Firm. Based in Charlotte, Alex represents clients in divorce, equitable distribution, alimony, child custody, child support, and other contested family law matters.
An experienced trial lawyer, Alex has handled a significant number of contested family law cases during his career. His practice is increasingly focused on financially complex divorce matters involving equitable distribution, alimony, business interests, real estate, retirement assets, significant income, and other substantial financial issues.
Alex is comfortable in the courtroom, but he also values negotiation and mediation when they can produce a better result for the client. His approach is to prepare thoroughly enough that the client has meaningful options—whether the case ultimately resolves through settlement or requires a judge to decide it.
Does Alexander French handle complex property division cases?
Yes. Equitable distribution and complex property division are an important part of Alex French's family law practice.
In North Carolina divorce cases, property may need to be identified, classified as marital, separate, or divisible, valued, and ultimately distributed between the spouses. That process can become significantly more complicated when the marital estate includes businesses, real estate, investment accounts, retirement assets, separate property claims, or significant debt.
Alex works with clients to understand not only what assets exist, but how those assets fit together financially.
A proposed division can look reasonable on a spreadsheet while producing very different practical outcomes for the two spouses. Liquidity, debt, taxes, income-producing assets, retirement resources, and the ability to maintain property after divorce can all affect whether a proposed resolution actually works.
Alex approaches equitable distribution with both settlement and trial in mind, helping clients evaluate potential resolutions while preparing the evidence necessary to present the case in court when an agreement cannot be reached.
Does Alexander French handle alimony cases?
Yes. Alex represents both spouses seeking alimony and spouses facing alimony claims in North Carolina.
Alimony cases can involve detailed questions regarding income, earning capacity, marital standard of living, expenses, financial need, the length of the marriage, and the parties' respective economic circumstances.
The analysis can become particularly complicated when a spouse owns a business, receives bonuses or variable compensation, has significant investment income, or has an income structure that cannot be understood simply by looking at a base salary.
Alex evaluates alimony as part of the client's broader financial picture. Property division, debt, income, future expenses, and support obligations can all affect what the client's finances will look like after the marriage ends.
His goal is to help clients understand both the legal arguments and the practical financial consequences before making decisions that may affect them for years.
Does Alexander French represent clients in high-net-worth divorce?
Alex represents clients in high-net-worth and financially complex divorce matters involving substantial assets, income, property division, and support.
These cases may involve closely held businesses, multiple properties, retirement accounts, investments, executive or variable compensation, separate property claims, and other assets that require more detailed legal and financial analysis.
Alex's litigation experience is particularly useful when the parties disagree about the classification or value of property, the amount of income available for support, or the appropriate financial resolution of the case.
He works to identify the issues that are likely to drive the outcome and to build the case around those issues rather than allowing every disagreement between the parties to become equally important.
What is Alexander French's approach to divorce litigation?
Alex is an experienced courtroom advocate who believes that strong litigation begins with preparation rather than aggression.
He enjoys trying cases and is comfortable presenting evidence, examining witnesses, and asking a judge to decide difficult issues when litigation is necessary. Years of handling contested family law matters, including a substantial number of custody cases, have given him extensive experience dealing with witnesses, credibility disputes, emotionally charged facts, and high-stakes hearings.
At the same time, Alex does not believe every case should go to trial.
Litigation involves risk. A negotiated agreement may allow clients to retain more control over the outcome, create solutions a judge might not order, and avoid some of the cost and uncertainty associated with trial.
Alex's role is to give clients a realistic assessment of both paths. He prepares cases so that settlement is a choice rather than something the client accepts simply because the case is not ready to be tried.
Does Alexander French handle child custody cases?
Yes. Alex has substantial experience representing parents in contested North Carolina child custody matters, including custody trials, modifications, and disputes involving parenting arrangements.
His years of custody litigation have helped develop the courtroom skills he brings to all areas of his family law practice.
Custody cases often involve large amounts of information and significant emotion. Alex works with clients to identify the evidence that is actually relevant to the child's best interests and to distinguish important parenting issues from the conflict that can surround a separation.
Although his practice includes custody matters, Alex's experience has increasingly led him toward complex financial cases involving equitable distribution, alimony, and the economic issues surrounding divorce.
Why did Alexander French become a lawyer?
For Alex, the legal profession was familiar from childhood.
He grew up in Ohio as the son of two lawyers and was exposed to the legal profession from an early age. Advocacy and working directly with people appealed to him, and he knew he wanted a practice that would put him in the courtroom rather than behind the scenes.
Alex attended The Ohio State University before moving to North Carolina for law school. He earned his J.D. from Charlotte School of Law and began practicing law in North Carolina in 2014.
Family law became a natural fit because it combines litigation, negotiation, strategy, financial analysis, and direct relationships with clients whose cases involve some of the most important issues in their lives.
What professional recognition has Alexander French received?
Alexander French is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law.
He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Family Law in the 2027 edition.
Alex has also been selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in Family Law, recognized in Business North Carolina's Legal Elite, and received multiple Avvo Clients' Choice Awards.
He also teaches continuing legal education programs for other attorneys. His presentations have addressed child custody, parenting plans, modification, enforcement, and other North Carolina family law issues.
What is Alexander French's role at McIlveen Family Law Firm?
Alex is a Partner at McIlveen Family Law Firm and practices primarily from the firm's Charlotte office.
As a Partner and Board Certified Family Law Specialist, Alex handles sophisticated family law litigation while also contributing to the firm's legal leadership and the development of its attorneys.
His practice reflects the combination of skills he has developed throughout his career: courtroom advocacy, negotiation, strategic case preparation, and an increasing concentration on the financial issues involved in divorce.
Where does Alexander French practice?
Alexander French is based in Charlotte and represents family law clients throughout North Carolina through McIlveen Family Law Firm.
His practice is focused on divorce, equitable distribution, alimony, high-net-worth and financially complex family law matters, business interests, and related litigation. He also has substantial experience handling contested child custody cases.
Outside the Practice of Law
Outside the office, Alex enjoys spending time with his family and children, playing golf, traveling, and supporting The Ohio State Buckeyes.
Growing up with two lawyer parents gave him an early connection to the profession, while having a family of his own has added another perspective to the financial and parenting decisions his clients face during divorce.
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AWARDS
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®, Family Law, 2027
- Selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, Family Law, 2027, 2026, 2024
- Legal Elite, Business North Carolina, Family Law, 2026
- Avvo: Alexander Comly French Clients’ Choice Award 2022
- Avvo: Clients' Choice Award 2017
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- North Carolina Professionalism for New Attorneys, NBI 2026
- Negotiating and Drafting Parenting Plans (With Samples), NBI 2023
- Parenting Factors, Modification, Enforcement, and More, NBI 2023
- Negotiating and Drafting Parenting Plans, NBI 2022