Education

University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida J.D. - 1997 University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL B.S. - 1985 Honors: Member of the Electrical Engineering Honors Society Major: Electrical Engineering

Awards & Honours

AVVO Clients\' Choice for Family Law, 2015 Expertise- Best Divorce Lawyers in Orlando, 2016

Biography

Mercedes attended law school at the University of Florida starting in January 1995 as a single mother and finished law school in two and a half years. To her surprise, she wasn’t the only “non-traditional” law student and she rapidly became a huge Gator fan! After graduating in May 1997 from UF, Mercedes and her son returned to Central Florida. Her son, Alex, graduated Winter Park High School and is now a graduate of the fire academy. Mercedes is very involved in the arts community, and balances the stress of practicing law with running and yoga. Law is a second career for Mercedes. After growing up in Central Florida, attending high school and college here in Orlando, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from the University of Central Florida in 1985. Mercedes worked mostly in the military defense industry for the next 10 years. But going to law school was always in the back or her mind. When a dear friend died of cancer at 36 years old, Mercedes decided she could no longer ignore what she really wanted to do. Mercedes worked in the areas of products liability, commercial litigation, insurance defense, government defense and charter schools. In 2001, a yoga teacher approached Mercedes about helping her with a divorce. Although she did not practice in that area, with the assistance of another attorney, she took the case. Through that experience, Mercedes realized that family law was what she wanted to practice. She went out on her own full-time in 2002 and never looked back! Mercedes R. Wechsler, P.A. handles all areas of family law, including dissolution of marriage, modifications, alimony, child custody, paternity, relocation, contempt and enforcement, prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, complex asset valuation. In addition, Mercedes is a guardian ad litem and handles dependency matters. What makes her firm unique is Mercedes and her staff care about the long term future of the clients and their children. Mercedes and her staff pride themselves on maintaining a constant line of communication with the clients. Phone calls and emails are always responded to within 24 hours. Always a strong advocate, Mercedes will also look for a solution that preserves a reasonable relationship between the parties especially if they have children. When necessary, Mercedes is prepared to aggressively litigate the matter all the way through trial. Mercedes ensures her clients are apprised about “the good, the bad and the ugly” so they can make an informed decision about their future. She and her staff recognize that her clients are going through some of the most difficult emotional situations they will ever have to face. Mercedes does her very best to make sure at the end of the case, the client is in a better place than when they first walked through her door.