Downturn has some law firms downsizing offices

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"Legal services employment in Boston, which never fully recovered from the previous recession, is now shedding jobs at a rate not seen since the recession of the early nineties," and one result is that some local law firms are unloading no-longer-needed office space, Jones Lang LaSalle said in a new report.

A real estate money management and services firm with a big presence in Greater Boston, Jones Lang LaSalle said, "The downturn has caused Boston law firms to shed surplus office space and renew their focus on utilizing remaining space more efficiently."

Declines in mergers and acquisitions and in legal financial business have led to a drop in law firm revenue, and law firms are now looking at "their real estate for possible opportunities to decrease overall operating costs," the report said.

The press release included a statement from Tom Doughty, the international director of Jones Lang LaSalle law firm group.

"There is a 'Perfect Storm' of circumstances that law firms need to understand and take into consideration as they contemplate their real estate plans for the future," Doughty said. "Space options abound � from new buildings to existing built-out space - while competition for premium space is decreasing and rental rates are declining. As a result, law firms that are able to take advantage of the current market will have an opportunity to solidify long-term occupancy at significantly decreased costs."

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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