Actress Katie Holmes has recruited a team of top lawyers as she prepares for a divorce battle royal with Tom Cruise.

The Top Gun star has reportedly been blindsided by his wife's decision to end their five-year marriage and his longtime publicist Bert Fields admits Cruise has yet to figure out who will represent him in as fights Holmes for custody of their daughter Suri.

The actress clearly has the advantage, signing up lawyers from two East Coast-based powerhouse legal firms, who have specialised in high-profile divorces.

New Yorker Allan Mayefsky represented Christie Brinkley in her divorce battle with Peter Cook and New Jersey divorce lawyer Jonathan Wolfe has written extensively about prenuptial agreements and ways to recover hidden assets in divorce proceedings.

Both attorneys have confirmed they will be representing Holmes, who filed divorce papers on Thursday (28Jun12).

Calling the divorce a "personal and private matter," Wolfe says, "Katie's primary concern remains, as it has always been, her daughter's best interest."

Holmes has requested sole legal custody and "primary residential custody" of six year old Suri, according to TMZ.com.

Fields can only hope the divorce proceedings will be civil, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I would hope that it's not a contentious matter. I know Tom is not a particularly contentious person."