Real Estate Lawyer’s Suicide a Sign of Desperate Times for Some

James F. Ripper had practiced law for 37 years and was operating a firm called Real Estate Resources when the housing market took a nosedive. He started falling behind on his office rent, and state grievance officials think he took about $125,000 from his clients' accounts. On Nov. 13, Ripper hanged himself. Noting the pressures facing older attorneys in particular in today's economy, Susan Griffin of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers says, "They'll ask me, 'What am I going to do now? All I've ever done is be a lawyer.'"