Louisiana lawyer suspended, could be disbarred

Headline News

A veteran Baton Rouge lawyer has been suspended indefinitely by the Louisiana Supreme Court for alleged misconduct and now faces disbarment.


Donald Ray Smith began practicing law in Louisiana in 1976. He's now accused of practicing law without a license and taking money from clients without performing his legal duties.

The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday suspended Smith indefinitely based on the charges brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which prosecutes alleged attorney misconduct. Court records show Smith has yet to dispute the allegations brought by the ODC since prosecutors took the first of a series of complaints against him in June 2005.

Court records show Smith has been serving as an attorney in the state despite being ineligible to practice law in Louisiana since 2004.

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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.

Business News

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